


A Knight's Guide to Becoming a Hero

by KingVessel



Series: Guide Series [1]
Category: Fairy Tail, RWBY
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Haki (One Piece), Jaune Arc-centric, Multi, Other, Super Saiyan, Use of Potara Earrings or Fusion Dance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:35:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29886732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingVessel/pseuds/KingVessel
Summary: Jaune had always wanted to become a Hero of Legend like his ancestors. Now he has not only his dream but a promise to fulfill. He has two dreams to fulfill but he has no problems working for it.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos/Virgo (Fairy Tail), Jaune Arc/Virgo (Fairy Tail), Velvet Scarlatina/Cardin Winchester
Series: Guide Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197410
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	1. Jaune Arc

It was a clear night as the streets were filled with people of all types, meandering around. In their midst was was a nervous looking teenager, carefully making his way through. He was tall, scrawny with scraggly blond hair and blue eyes which were constantly looking around to avoid trouble, as he ducked in between the spaces he could find. His eyes roved around until he found his target, and then proceeded to pale considerably.

The scene in front of him was a troublesome one. A short girl (although her ample breasts and hips showcased that she was no child) in a white suit jacket which rode up a bit to show her hips and form fitting pencil pants was surrounded by four thugs who had lecherous grins and were slowly closing into her space. Nervous Blond Guy flinched, before hurrying forward.

'Oh crap. This is bad. I gotta step in before its too late.' Nervous Blond Guy thought as he quickly slipped in between the girl and the Thugs. "Neo! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

He quickly turned around to face the thugs. "Thanks for looking after my friend but we have somewhere to be now. Please excuse us." Nervous Blond Guy tried to leave only to get blocked by Thug #02 and Thug #03.

"Oh I don't think so" said Thug #01 as he stepped forward. "That little bitch not only spilled her ice cream on me as she bumped into me," gesturing to the stain on his jacket "She also the audacity to not only not apologize, but fuckin' STOMPED ON MY BOOTS LIKE I'M THE OFFENDER!"

'Neo, Whhhyyy?!' Nervous Blond Guy whined on the inside. On the outside, Nervous Blond Guy continued on the path of mediation "If what you say is true, then I'll apologize in her stead. Please take this money" he reached for his wallet "and be on your way."

He didn't get far before Thug #01 grabbed his hoodie by the collar and hefted him up. "Like hell! I'm taking taking this bitch home to teach her some proper manners... hehehe."

Nervous Blond Guy briefly got a look of pity on his face grabbing the arm holding him. "Listen, you don't want to do that. Please just leave peacefully while you can or else, something troublesome is gonna happen." Thug #01 threw his head back in laughter before looking behind him as he looked behind him only to falter at what he saw.

Before he grabbed Nervous Blond Guy, Neo had been surrounded by Thugs #02, #03 and #04. Now as he looked again, Thug #02 was on his knees, sobbing as he held his groin and his ribs; Thug #03 was laying on the floor, dangerously still and quiet as a pool of blood formed around him; and Thug #04 stood alone, holding his bleeding arm and his opponent, Neo, was twirling a knife that Nervous Blond Guy was quite sure she didn't have when the 'fight' began.

"Y-Y-You bitch!" With that expletive, Thug #04 rushed forward, throwing a punch only for Neo to push it aside while simultaneously kicking his knee viciously. Nervous Blond Guy and Thug #01 both winced at the ***CRACK*** that echoed around.

Neo stared at the downed man before walking up to him, raising her leg up and, with a sadistic smile, brought it down on the already broken leg. The resounding ***KACRACK*** caused Thug #01 to let go of Nervous Blond Guy and throw himself at Neo in a wild rage.

He almost reached her before an elbow came out of nowhere to knock him out. Nervous Blond Guy put his arm down and breathed a sigh of relief , then turned to Neo, who threw the knife away and smiled at him while twirling a lock of her pink, white and brown hair, as if she hadn't just brutally curbstomped three guys bigger than her.

"Neo! Why did you antagonize those guys like that? I know you lost your ice cream but still!" She shrugged, which in Neo-nese, translated to "It amused me." Nervous Blond Guy sighed before leaving the street with her in tow.

"Where's Roman? I wanted to see you guys before I head for Beacon soon." Neo shook her hand in a so-so manner "He's on a Job." Nervous Blond Guy's face tightened a bit in worry before relenting. "Alright, I'll treat you to some ice cream if you try not to piss off anyone else toda-"

He barely finished the sentence before Neo grabbed his hand and sped off showing more power than her body seemingly possessed. Nervous Blond Guy could only offer a brief prayer for his wallet before trying to ensure his footing.

* * *

The duo reached a Soda Shop where Neo promptly ordered the largest sundae available and went ahead to enjoy it all to herself. Her companion looked through his scroll contacts and picked one to call and was almost shocked out of his skin when the one he was currently calling tapped his shoulder.

"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, did you miss me so much that you're calling me willingly like that?" Roman, a tall man in white coat, black pants and a bowler hat to portray the 'gentleman look', had orange hair styled to cover his right eye. His left eye however had slight liner, giving him a somewhat feminine look.

Jaune wasn't deceived however, as he knew Roman was a thief who was strong enough to match most Pro Hunters.

Jaune's relationship with Roman and Neo was that he needed forged transcripts to enter Beacon as he had unqualified to enroll at the time. Jaune's payment wasn't large sum of money as he had expected but ten favors in which Roman could call in whenever he felt like it. Favor #01 was sponsoring Neo's ice cream addiction for a year.

"Why do you have ice and water in your clothes but smell like ash?" Jaune asked, knowing how much Roman valued his fashion sense. Roman simply lighted a cigar, took a strong breath and replied "Trouble at my latest heist."

"Any deaths?"

"No Kid, relax. I'm not sloppy."

Jaune relaxed a bit, ignoring Neo's amused looks as he took a sip of his own order, an iced orange smoothie. Roman might be a notorious thief, but he refused to kill, not out of morality but pragmatism, as cops would put a lot more effort catching a killer than a thief.

"So, you're heading for Beacon soon, right? Time to call in a favor." Jaune grimaced and replied "As long as I'm not hurting someone or leading someone to their death, what do you need?"

Roman smiled through his cigar "For the Vytal Festival on the way, a group of students will come over from different huntsman schools for participation. I need you to get a list of names of those guys when they arrive."

Jaune narrowed his eyes in confusion. "That... isn't something either you or a thief would be interested in. Is something wrong?"

Now it was Roman's turn to grimace. "Lets just say Neo and I" gesturing to Neo, who had emptied the sundae ('HOW?! That thing was bigger than your head!') "got hired by someone we really don't want be hired by, and that list will help us in getting 'unhired.'"

Jaune thought on it before nodding in agreement. "Splendid! Now lets leave. Neo, lets go."

The trio left left the store, cutting through a nearby alley before Neo took Roman's arm, winked at Jaune and proceeded to teleport away, leaving a visual of what could only be described as a "view into a shattered mirror" before breaking apart and leaving the sound of breaking glass.

"Guess I'm walking then." Jaune walked a few more blocks, intent on getting to his motel room.

_A brick soared through the air, intent on breaking his skull._

Jaune ducked out of the way, letting the brick smack harmlessly against the wall, before taking a look at his assailants. It was a group of thugs, some wielding pipes, knifes, chains and bats, and at their front was "Thug #01?"

"The fuck you calling Thug #01?! Where's that bitch from earlier? I'm gotta pay her back for what she did!"

Jaune stared at him in disbelief before exclaiming "Don't you realize I was trying to save you dumbasses from her?! And now, you want to go again?! What wrong with you, Thug #01?!"

"I ain't asking you to save anyone and who the fuck are you calling Thug #01?! I'm Big Bear Ted, motherfucker!"

Jaune stared a bit before replying "I can't believe you just called yourself that, with pride in your voice."

"Y-You little shit! Get him!" With that, all the thugs ran forward with the aim of beating their target into a pulp.

Jaune stared at the approaching mob with an apprehensive look, before sighing and stating with a small but strong voice that seemed to resound in their bones despite the noise they were making.

**"Buzz off."**

_A wave of pressure burst forth from Jaune enveloping the world around him in a tinge of blue before fading away._

The thugs were frozen in their steps, before falling down unconscious with foam in their mouths, as none had willpower even close to matching him. Jaune stared dispassionately, then turned and continued on his way back.

* * *

Jaune sat in the bullhead, trying his best to hold in his breakfast while on the way to Beacon. Once again, he cursed his motion sickness which had given him hell over the years.

A few meters away, two girls were talking with each other before the blonde one suddenly hugged the smaller brunette. "I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" The blonde (Jaune mentally dubbed Goldilocks, after her long wild golden hair) said squeezing her sister even tighter.

"Please stop..." The brunette (Jaune dubbed this one Red Hood, due to the actual hooded cloak she was wearing) gasped out, struggling to breathe before being released.

The blonde shook on the spot, apparently holding herself back from hugging her again. "I'm so proud of you."

"Believe, Sis. It was nothing."

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is gonna think you're the bee's knees."

"I don't to be the bee's knees." Red Hood replied, as she stomped her foot lightly. "I don't want to be any kind of knees. I just wanna be a normal girl with knees."

Jaune tuned out the conversation here as the rumbling in his stomach doubled from turbulence. He dimly acknowledged the News Reporter's, Lisa Lavender, statement of Roman Torchwick's last robbery ('Why does he look so proud in that picture?'), and another protest of the White Fang, a faunus rights activist group, gone wrong.

A projection of a blonde woman with her hair in a bun suddenly appeared. Jaune and the other students moved close to get a good look at who was probably a high official of Beacon's Staff. She had green eyes with glasses, was dressed in a white dress shirt with space for cleavage, black pencil skirt with pantyhose and had the sternest expression Jaune had ever seen in his life.

["Hello and Welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress of Beacon Academy. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."]

Jaune briefly bowed his head in guilt.

["Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage to needed for such a task and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world."]

The projection ended.

Jaune clenched his hands in determination. He had made it. It was a lot of trouble but he had done it! All he had was make it through four years and he was set to fulfill his dream and promise. He was gonna make it. He is gonna make it. He is-

***GLURKUP***

He was not gonna make it!

Jaune clasped his hands over his mouth and ran past the sisters, barely making it to the disposal bin and missing Goldilocks' comment on him.

"Why?" Jaune clutched the bin in despair as he threatened to upchuck once more. "Motion sickness, why do you torment me even in my thoughts and fantasies?! Whyyyy?!"

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Neo Politan**

**Title: The Sadistic Ice Cream Mercenary**

**Age: 20**

**Aura: Pink**

**Semblance: Mirror Realm. She's capable of manipulating space around her to create illusions, teleport and create temporary pocket dimensions.**

**Color Motif: Pink, Brown, White**

**Sex: Female**

**Alignment: Chaotic Neutral**

**Likes: Roman Torchwick, Ice Cream, teasing Jaune Arc**

**Dislikes: People who mess with her Ice Cream, an unnamed 'Fiery Bitch'**

**Bio: Neo is a mercenary in Roman's employ who uses her skills and semblance for Roman's sake if combat or quick getaways are needed. She's also a sadist and an Ice Cream addict.**


	2. The Shining Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune arrives at Beacon.

As soon as the Airship landed, Jaune ran towards the nearest trashcan to empty his guts again.

"Well, there goes any chance of a average social life among those passengers." Jaune thought gruesomely as he wiped his mouth.

He looked around and noticing a nearby tree, went to it with the intention of resting his stomach a bit. He had just sat down when he heard someone approaching him.

It was one of the other students who shared the ship with him. She had fair skin, wavy black hair with a bow (Jaune dubbed her Bow Girl because he had never seen a teenager with a bow in his entire life) and amber eyes. She was dressed in a black, buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath that was a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, black low-heeled boots and full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles and to top it off was a black scarf.

Bow Girl walked up and proceeded to jump up the tree next to his, ignoring his existence entirely. Jaune considered talking to her but after remembering what he did on the ship, he wisely decided otherwise. As he stared at the towers in the distance, he recalled one of the things he heard about Beacon from his sister a while ago.

* * *

**Flashback Scene**

_***BOOM*** _

_That was the sound Jaune heard as he continued the course his sister, who was a Pro Huntress, was currently training him in. He was running through a forest, trying to find trees with targets on them and slashing them while dodging obstacles. The scary part? The obstacles were INVISIBLE SHOCKWAVES HIS SISTER HAD BEEN FIRING AT HIM FOR THE LAST TWO HOURS! "_

_Hey Bianca!" Screamed Jaune, hoping to slow the barrage down a bit._

_"_ _When I go to Beacon, is there anything I should look out for? You know, something not just exclusive for you."_

_Bianca was a tall woman with blonde shaggy hair the same shade as Jaune's, creamy skin and blue eyes. She was dressed in chainmail which hugged her muscular but voluptuous body quite snuggly, a lightly armored longcoat which reached her knees, and armored gauntlets and boots. Her weapons were a pair of gun blades. She was currently using her semblance, Tremor, to blast invisible shockwaves at him._

_The purpose of the training was to train him to deal with multiple melee opponents while also dodging a long range opponent who would shoot at him from afar. There was also the bonus of training his Observation Haki._

_"Hmm... There are the explosions."_

_Jaune slowed down to look at his sister with a blank expression. "...what?"_

_"Oh yeah," Bianca waved her arms in exaggeration. "Looking back on it, It's so obvious. There's no way you can stick several teenagers, armed with dust and dangerous weapons, in a place where_ _they learn to use them better and not expect collateral damage. Explosions were the most common back then. By the way, dodge."_

_Due to the fact that she hadn't changed her tone in the slightest, Jaune would have missed the danger if not for his Observation Haki and even then, bending over his back saved him from barely losing his head._

_"Y-You aimed for my face?!" Jaune screamed in shock._

_"Of course I did." replied Bianca while rolling her arms for another barrage. "You're already behind your agemates by years, Jaune. By the way, I noticed what you were aiming for, starting that conversation. From now om, I'll be doubling the pace."_

_"NOOOOOOOOO!" Jaune's scream of terror was heard all the way out of the forest, where a pink haired maid was killing one of the few Grimm attracted to Jaune's immense fear for his life._

**Flashback End**

* * *

"Uh... why did I have to remember that now?" Jaune groaned out as he stood up. After stretching his back, he had only taken one step towards Beacon when Jaune heard the explosion.

***BOOMCRACK***

He stared blankly for a bit before mentally wailing out 'I haven't even been to Orientation yet, and the explosions are already happening?!'

Jaune moved towards the crater site and saw Red Hood from earlier, lying in it, muttering to herself. "Welcome to Beacon..." Jaune stopped above her and offered a hand.

"Hey. I'm Jaune." Red Hood gratefully accepted it. "Ruby."

As Jaune pulled her up, he took the chance to look her over. Ruby was a fair-skinned young girl with silver eyes and neck-length black hair with red tips. She wore a Gothic Lolita style Combat Outfit with a red hooded cloak and a metal contraption Jaune couldn't understand, attached to her lower back. " Aren't you the guy who puked on the ship?"

After a brief argument which involved the exchange of insult names, Ruby grew antsy, "So, I got this thing," and pulled out the metal contraption which proceeded to transform into a Mechashift Scythe.

"Woah!" Yelled Jaune as he retreated in shock. "That was a scythe?"

"Yup." Ruby hummed in pride. "It's actually a customable High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe."

"It's a gun too?" "Yeah, what's your's?" Ruby asked in curiosity as she eyed Jaune's waist.

"Well, I've got a simple Sword and Shield combo." Jaune said as he pulled out out Crocea Mors, a simple longsword with a blue handle and a golden cross-guard and a shield is white with a gold trim, displaying the Arc Family emblem in the center.

"What do they do?" Ruby asked eagerly. Jaune replied in a deadpan tone. "The sword is used to slash and stab. The shield is used to block. The shield also mechashifts into a sheath to put the sword away in. The end."

Ruby didn't seem put out in the slightest. "I've never seen a weapon so close to the classics. That's so cool!"

Jaune blushed at the sheer sincerity as they put their weapons away.

"So where are we going anyway?" That killed Jaune's blush quickly. "Eh? I was following you though..." They briefly stared at each other before shouting in utter panic.

* * *

Ruby and Jaune hurried through the doors of the Training Arena.

"Good thing that nice teacher with the coffee mug pointed us the way." Ruby huffed in relief and exhaustion.

Jaune who had been breathing heavily, quickly recovered and looked around. "I don't see any teachers on stage and everyone's still scattered. We made it!"

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Jaune looked to see Goldilocks waving at Ruby from afar.

"Oh, I gotta go! I'll see after the ceremony!" Ruby said as she rushed off to meet her sister.

"Great. Now where else am I supposed to find another cute, nice, quirky redhead to talk to?" sighed Jaune as he meandered off, missing an attractive ponytailed redhead behind him.

After a while he found Ruby with Goldilocks and a white haired girl Jaune had never seen, arguing and only managed to catch the end of that scenario "...cute boys, like Tall, Blond, and... Scraggly over there!" gesturing to him.

Jaune would have gone over for clarification, but a sound from the speakers stopped him. The teachers had arrived.

It was Coffee Teacher, the man who directed Jaune and Ruby to the Arena.

He was a middle-aged man with tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes. He was dressed in an unzipped black suit over a dark green, buttoned vest and green shirt. He also wore black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants. In addition to the cane in his other hand, his other accessory was a mug bearing the Beacon Academy emblem, from which he drank coffee.

"I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He stepped away from the microphone to allow Professor Goodwitch to speak.

"You will gather in the barn tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are all dismissed." She stepped off and walked away with Coffee Teacher.

Jaune adjusted his onesie in the bathroom. It was a blue full-body pajamas with blue bunny slippers and a white bunny face on its chest. As he walked out, He could already hear snickering from all corners of the room. He waved at Ruby and Goldilocks as he crossed the room. Ruby waved back, but her sister made a weird face at him when she saw his PJ. Jaune settled into his sleeping bag, brought out his scroll and texted home on his progress.

* * *

Several miles away in Jaune's hometown Ansel, his mother, Annabeth Arc, looked through her son's message home. She had gotten to Jaune describing Ruby Rose when she burst out laughing. "What amuses you now, Sweetheart?" Arthur, the Arc Patriarch, looked over his wife's shoulders, read Jaune's message and burst out laughing as well. "I don't believe it. The first friend he made over there is a girl?!"

Bianca, who was also present, flinched and asked to be excused to the bathroom. "Well, my little brother works fast at least."

* * *

**Flashback Scene**

_Jaune was heading off to the Bullhead which would take him to the City of Vale. Seeing him off were Bianca and another sister of his, Sara. Sara was a Pro Huntress like Bianca and would have offered to train Jaune too, had Bianca not protested, not wanting Jaune to be traumatized by Sara's regime which was too much for Jaune (Considering that Bianca's training already traumatized Jaune a bit, the fact she decided Sara's regime was too much, seriously bothered him). As Jaune climbed the escalator into the airship, Sara suddenly noted the bandages on Jaune's arm._

_Bianca wracked her head in confusion. She could swear she had forgotten something. She didn't know what it was, but it really bothered her. WHAT WAS IT?! Then Sara's voice spoke up. "Hey, Bianca."_

_"Yes, Sara?"_

_"Is something wrong with Jaune's Aura? He still had bandages on..."_

_Bianca stared at her little sister, then at the rapidly disappearing airship in the distance._

_"...Oh Crap."_

**Flashback End**

* * *

Bianca groaned at her blunder. "At least I made him strong enough not to die instantly. He live long enough for one of his friends to unlock his Aura for him."

* * *

** Hunter Profile **

**Name: Bianca Arc**

**Age: 27**

**Title: The Earth-Shaking Ravager**

**Aura: Golden Brown**

**Color Motif: Scarlet, Gold**

**Semblance: Tremor. She is capable of generating massive vibrations or shockwaves, which can travel through all possible mediums, like the ground, the air, and even the oceans.**

**Sex: Female**

**Alignment: Chaotic Good**

**Likes: Her family,** **Cinnamon** **Rolls**

**Dislikes: Enemies of her Family,** **Brussel sprouts**

**Bio: As the eldest sister of the Arc Siblings, Bianca is extremely protective, despite her stoic personality. She is also one of the strongest Huntresses in Vale and Jaune's role model.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it seems a bit too similar to the show but I'll start diverting soon.


	3. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune meets an old friend who's supposed to be an enemy and has a slightly better relationship with him, is more confident with girls and decides his Headmaster is a sadist.

_"Stop it already!" A cry rang out through the park in the morning, originating from a group of kids in one corner. They were six of them, three of them facing against two others, who were in turn, defending a blond kid with a monkey tail. "Enough of that already, Cardin." said one of the defensive kids, stepping forward. "Can't you see he's crying?" "I see that. What I don't see is the part where you think I care."_

_"Easy, Alice." said Jaune, as he calmed his friend, who looked ready to rile herself up again. They had been passing through the park on their way from an errand, only to find Cardin and his goons terrorizing a monkey faunus their age. Jaune and Alice wasted no time in attacking Cardin's goons and saving the victim._

_"Keh. You got a lotta guts, trying to take on Cardin-" Goon #01 was cut off mid-sentence as a stone impacted his shoulder. Everyone turned to the culprit, Cardin's group taking a step back as Alice readied more pebbles in her hand. "Better take a hike, Cardin. I'm not afraid to bury these right in your skull if you cant take a hint." Goon #02 whimpered and ran away, but Cardin stepped forward, small bangs erupting from his outstretched hand. "You think I'm afraid of any of you? A little girl who's spent more time in the hospital than out; a girly boy with too many sisters; or a stinking faunus who's polluting my air just by being in sight?"_

_"I wonder what your Mom would say on that." Said Jaune testily._

_Cardin's look could have melted rock. "Don't talk about my mother so freely, Jauney boy. You'll regret it." The bangs from his hand increased in frequency._

_"That's too bad. Because I'm saying it how I'm seeing it. Mrs. Winchester would be ashamed of and pissed at you. The White Fang may have killed your Mom, but we both know this guy wasn't anywhere near there. You're just being a foolish mongrel for blaming a whole race for what a group of maniacs did."_

_Cardin stood there silently for some seconds then with a roar, blasted an explosion half his size, out of his hand towards his right side. Everyone present flinched, before Cardin looked Jaune and stated "Your legs are shaking." He then turned around and proceeded to stalk out of the park, dragging Goon #01 with him._

_Jaune shook on the spot before sliding down to his knees trying to hold back his tears and shaking._

_Alice threw her stones away in relief, then tackled Jaune in squealing joy. "Kyaaaaaa! You were so amazing! I don't what's between you two, you managed to make Cardin go away by talking to him! That so awesome!"_

_"Y-Yeah. Thanks for saving me." Jaune turned to regard the rescuee. He was Jaune's height, with blonde hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. "You're welcome. I'm Jaune. This is Alice."_

_"Alice Snowlander at your service." Alice introduced herself with a self-assured grin, showing way more energy than what you would expect a 'perpetually sick' girl to have. "I'm gonna travel the world someday, even the Grimmlands. And this is Jaune, my husband."_

_"HER FRIEND!" Jaune cut in with a blush. "Forgive her, she's coprecious, I think."_

_"Its precocious, and you are my husband. I'm just claiming you early before anyone else does." Alice retorted with zero remorse._

_"Excuse her please. What's your name?" The faunus stared at the odd couple that had just made their acquaintances and then, burst out laughing. After calming down a bit, he replied with a wide smile on his face. "I'm Sun. Sun Wukong."_

* * *

Jaune woke from the dream. He could hear the rambling of a rather hyperactive girl nearby. He turned to the source and saw a girl talking and moving with energy a normal teenager shouldn't have so early in the morning. Next to her was a boy who, despite his steady movement, had the laziest expression he had ever seen in his life.

Considering the time, Jaune got up, packed his sleeping bag and headed for the bathroom to get ready for Initiation. After taking a bath and freshening up, He took a look in the mirror and approved of what he saw.

Pumpkin Pete hoodie, Check.

Armor, Check.

Boots with 'Right' and 'Left' marked on them, Check.

Golden key with Zodiac symbol hanged from his neck, Check.

Cardin overlooking him with a full head in height, chec- wait what?

Jaune flinched from the mirror, ditching the reflection to gawk at the real form of Cardin Winchester.

Cardin Winchester was a very tall guy with dark orange hair and indigo eyes. He was also decked in armor like Jaune but while Jaune's white armor was designed for someone who prioritized mobility, Cardin's silver-gray armor clearly prioritized sturdiness. Jaune was a guy who didn't want to be hit, while Cardin was a guy who didn't want to be _moved_ when hit.

"Move, Jauney. You're blocking my view."

"Don't call me that. What are you doing here?"

"That's my question. A loser like you who only started training a year ago shouldn't even be here." Cardin checked himself while Jaune silently fumed, then suddenly threw a **Hardened** fist at Jaune, who blocked with **Hardened** crossed arms and skidded a few inches back.

"W-w-what? How do you have haki?!" Jaune stared at Cardin's fist as the 'black steel' reverted back to creamy skin.

"I'm insulted that you consider me to be below you of all people. Besides, if you couldn't defend yourself from something like that, there's no way you belong here." Cardin walked to the door and after stepping out left a last message. "So drop out while you still can... faker."

The door closed as Jaune's insults filled the bathroom.

* * *

"Nora" The lazy boy from earlier aid as his guns disappeared into his sleeves. "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise. Plus if they did, I have no idea what it is."

Nora thought a bit. "That's... perfect! If its not well known, we can create new ones. Ren, I'll create a new sound. It will be like however we want it to be and-" She stopped as Ren gestured for her to follow.

"Come on, Nora. We can't create secret passwords where everyone else can hear them." Ren said on the way out as he and Nora passed Ruby and her sister.

"...mean that milk isn't enough to grow up, Yang. You drank a lot when you were younger than me and got those!" Ruby said, gesturing to Yang's chest.

"I can't believe you think milk was enough to get these babies," Yang replied, groping her own chest. "Besides, you're dodging the question. Why aren't you considering joining a team that wouldn't have me in it? You have to accept that you have to talk and socialize with others since our teams are being chosen today."

"But I have you, don't I? Wait, dear sister Yang, are you trying to imply you don't want me on your team?"

"No no no" Yang quickly backpedaled. "I'm just thinking you need... to... break out of your shell a bit.."

"You really think I need to 'break out of my shell'! That's so-"

"-unbelievable! That bastard really pisses me off." Jaune said as he passed by the arguing sisters. "Now then, Locker 636, where are you?"

Jaune looked around and found it next to a pair of girls. One of them was a ponytailed redhead in a spartan type armor and gear, and the other was the snowette from yesterday, who complimented him. She was dressed in all white apparel, which faded to pale blue at the edges, red-lined and had a giant snowflake symbol on her back. She had just mentioned "that great!" in her conversation with Ponytail Girl when Jaune stepped close.

"Hi there, Snow Angel. How are you this lovely morning? Happy enough to form a team with me?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Snow Angel said, placing her face into her hands.

"Actually," interrupted Ponytail Girl, who seemed strangely pleased to be ignored. "I think the teams are going to be composed of four students each."

"Thanks for the info, Gorgeous. There's space on Team Jaune for nice, pretty girls like you." said Jaune to Ponytail Girl who seemed to be considering it.

"Hold on." Snow Angel stepped between them. "Jaune, was it? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Jaune replied.

"This is Pyrrha." Snow Angel said in exasperation

"Hello!" greeted Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" explained Snow Angel.

"Never been there." replied Jaune.

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" Snow Angel went on.

"The what? I just concentrated on the Valean contests." said Jaune.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" screamed Snow Angel as she lost patience.

"That's you!?" gasped Jaune. " But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool..." said Pyrrha. "Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Her face took on a slightly sick look. "Too much sugar... So many boxes... so much taste-testing..."

"Well, after learning all that," Snow Angel putting up a better-than-thou look. "Do you think _you_ are in a position to ask her to be in your team?

"That depends on her. " Jaune said stepping around Snow Angel to speak to Pyrrha directly. "Pyrrha, a champion I didn't know of till five minutes ago, would like a team Jaune spot?" He completed with an exaggerated bow.

Pyrrha giggled and curtsied exaggeratedly as well. "I'd be honored to be on a team with Lady Weiss and Sir Jaune."

'Weiss. I got Snow Angel's name now.' Jaune smiled in triumph.

An announcement played on the intercom system. Professor Goodwitch's voice was heard. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Well then." Jaune said as he stood up straight as his forgotten nervousness came back with a rage. "Lets go."

* * *

Soon, They had all gathered at the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin and Glynda with her tablet.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said to the students.

Goodwitch continued. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"What? Ohhh..." Ruby said to herself, very nervous.

'I guess Pyrrha was right. This is a school after all.' Jaune deadpanned. ' Teachers choose the partners and the students suck it up and deal with it.'

Ozpin further explained. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ruby groaned.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin revealed.

Jaune would have sworn that he heard something shatter in Ruby as she squeaked "Whaaaat!?" That or Neo was somewhere around... Jaune took a look around to make sure it wasn't the latter.

A small distance from him, Nora said to Ren. "See? I told you-!"

Ozpin resumed the explanation. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Jaune laughed nervously and then gulps loudly. This was sounding way to similar to what Bianca and his other Huntress sisters had hammered into him. To become a Huntsman was to accept the heightened chance of a violent death.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune raised his hand.

"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin ignored Jaune. 'Wait, what?' He's ignoring me!?'

Everyone struck a pose on their tile. Nora crouched low, Ren wielded his weapons, Yang raised her fists, Ruby readied her body, and Jaune was still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune said, looking aside at the others again with rising alarm, as the tile under Weiss rose up into a springboard, rocketing her into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activated down the line. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin explained.

Jaune again looked at the other students being launched. "Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" he asked.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin clarified.

Jaune cast a final, frantic look as an excited Nora and Ren got launched. "Uh-huh… Yeah."

At her turn, Yang winked at her younger sister, put on a pair of aviators, and flew off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joined her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategeeeee…" Jaune was interrupted by suddenly being launched into the Emerald Forest.

Ozpin, for his part, simply took a sip of his drink. "A Landing Strategy, Mr. Arc, is simply surviving a fall from a ridiculous height without suffering from it."

* * *

Jaune barely noticed his classmates employing their own separate landing strategies and focused on the fact that the ground was coming up too fast. Raising Crocea Mors, Jaune positioned his shield in front of him and adjusted his body appropriately. " **Armament: Hardening**."

The white kite shield with the golden Arc Emblem promptly turned shiny black in color and smashed through the trees as he descended, the constant crashing slowing him down till he crashed into a particularly thick one.

"Uhh..." Jaune moaned as he shook his head and jumped the rest of the way down.

Jaune cricked his neck before a rustle in the bushes behind alerted him to trouble. In an instant, Jaune's weapons were in hand. It was unnecessary as Weiss was the one to come through the bushes.

"Hey, Snow Angel." Jaune said as he lowered his sword. "Ready to join team Jaune?"

"..."

Weiss simply headed back in the direction she came from and Jaune groaned in dejection. He dimly heard Ruby yell " _You came back!_ " The hit to his ego was monumental.

'Not only did was I her second choice,' Jaune wailed in despair. 'But I was so bad as second choice she went back to the rejected first choice.'

Around him, soft growls rang out as a couple of Boarbatusks surrounded him.

"Oh well." Jaune said as he readied himself. "Anyone's fine as long it's not Cardin. Now then." He turned to face the Boarbatusks.

"Bring it. I needed a stress reliever anyway."

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Jaune Arc**

**Age: 17**

**Title: The Dorky Knight, The Rookie Celestial Spirit Mage**

**Aura: White**

**Color Motif: White, Gold, Black**

**Magic: Gold with White effects**

**Sex: Male**

**Alignment: Neutral Good**

**Likes: His family and friends, X-ray & Vav Comics**

**Dislikes: Cardin, Enemies of his Family, Being dressed as a girl.**

**Bio: Jaune had always wanted to be a Hero of Legend like the Arc ancestors he is descended from. He also carries the promise he made with his friend(wife) after she passed away. After an unfortunate accident where he was rendered amnesiac till his sixteenth year, Jaune would forget about his dreams and the promise he made.**

**After struggling to get a Hunter's recommendation, a second accident occurred in which in the process of saving the victim's life, he lost the recommendation letter. In desperation, he turned to forgery to acquire transcripts for enrollment. Jaune encountered Roman and Neo and a deal was struck. Ten Favors in exchange for high quality transcripts and mutual silence on their relationship.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initiation is now underway, but our heroes can't enter an exam like this and end it normally can they? Next time on "A Knight's Guide to Becoming a Hero" is "The Emerald Forest" Please review as you step into the dark...


	4. The Emerald Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fights and encounters all around.

"Ugh. Me and my big mouth." Jaune said as he took stock of the situation. After dealing with two of the five Boarbatusks around him, a few Beowulves had joined the mob, raising the stakes against Jaune.

He normally had no problems against numbers like this, but it was difficult to fight enemies with different styles. While fighting Boarbatusks who would attack from below, Beowulves were pack attackers and similar to actual wolves, if one or a few Beowulves were ever sighted, it's normal to expect a pack nearby.

Dodging a swipe from a Beowulf, Jaune **Hardened** his leg and kicked forward, caving in a Boarbatusk skull and beheaded another Beowulf with a sword swing. He then stepped on another Beowulf's back, which had just done a failed diving attack, to propel himself up a tree.

He only bought himself a few seconds of time but it was enough.

**"Open, Gate of the Maiden!"** Jaune declared as he swiped his Key from his neck and held it forward. **"Virgo!"**

There was a flash of light then an explosion of dust and rubble from the ground. Jaune blocked his nose and jumped down. When the dust cleared, there was only a single figure standing amongst the Grimm corpses.

Virgo had the appearance of a maid with shackles around her wrists, short, pink hair, and blue eyes.

"Master Jaune, I have finished killing off the enemies." Virgo spoke with an emotionless tone, which then turned sultry with her next sentence. _"Time for punishment?"_

"How can you want a punishment for doing a good job?" Jaune asked as he blushed from Virgo's innuendo. "Also, no _punishment_ in public, especially since I'm in the middle of Initiation right now."

"Very well then." Virgo replied, bowing down in subservience. She then raised her head to send Jaune a sensual smile. _"I look forward to our next... ah, session."_

Virgo then vanished in a flash of sparkly light. Jaune had to readjust his pants a bit. "Has Virgo gotten even _sexier_ than before, or has my _experience_ with Virgo caused me to get a maid fetish?" Jaune looked up to the sky in ponder, before he shrugged in nonchalance. As a an average, hormonal teenage boy, Jaune was completely ok with either option.

Jaune ran Northwards in the belief that sooner or later, he would run into a potential partner when-

* **WHAM***

He ran right into Pyrrha at high speed. There was a bit of a tumble as each mistakenly thought the other was a Grimm at first and wrestled each other until Pyrrha emerged over Jaune victorious. They laid there a bit staring into each other's eyes till Jaune spoke. "Hey there, Pyrrha. Unless you're already spoken for, welcome to Team Jaune."

"Pffhahahha" Pyrrha laughed in surprise and a bit of relief. "Glad to be here, Jaune."

"That's great. Now, please help me up before we both get kicked out for intimate relations." Jaune said from underneath her.

Pyrrha blushed scarlet as she realized that their position was that of a lover forcing her companion to the ground to commence lovemaking. She practically teleported off him, stammering and gesticulating wildly.

Jaune just stared at her cute behavior for a bit before taking pity on her. "Come on, Pyrrha. Now that we're partners, we head North."

Pyrrha took the save and proceeded to lead the way, hiding her still red face from Jaune's view.

As Pyrrha and Jaune made their way through the bushes, Jaune heard a noise far away and turned his head.

"Did you hear that?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded in response. "Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy."

They kept moving forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction as Pyrrha raised a branch to pass by and accidentally released it right at Jaune's face. He barely dodged it, preventing it from flooring him instantly.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha looked back behind her. "I'm sorry!"

Jaune laughed, lowering his hand from his cheek to reveal a small scratch from the wooden branch he thought he had completely dodged. "It's okay. Just a scratch!" He got back up when Pyrrha approached him.

Pyrrha asked. "Why didn't you activate your Aura?"

"Huh?" Jaune was confused until he gasped in realization. "Sorry. I forgot about it."

He closed in eyes in concentration as a soft white glow formed around his face, causing the scratch to vanish.

"Thanks for the concern." Jaune said as he kept his Aura Armor active. "Let's move on."

"R-Right." Pyrrha said in shock, as she struggled to comprehend the large reserves of Aura Jaune had. An amount usually for active Pro Hunters.

'Thank the Celestial Spirit King that Roman unlocked it for me that night.' Jaune thought remembering when he first learned about aura. It had been humiliating to see Roman and Neo, two grown adults, fall into raving, ground-pounding laughter at his foolishness. It still burned to remember it. Jaune shook his head to get rid of the embarrassing memories.

"Let's hurry up." Jaune called out to his partner. "We don't know if the Relics we're getting are going to be enough for everybody so lets-"

* **BOOM***

Jaune and Pyrrha flinched from the explosion. "Was that one of our comrades?" Pyrrha asked in shock.

"Yes." Jaune said tersely, already moving away from the direction of the explosion as another rang out. "I know the owner of those blasts and I don't want to be anywhere near him."

* * *

Cardin breathed heavily as six of the nine Beowulves who had attacked put some space in between them. He didn't permit that. With a wordless cry, he launched himself, literally sparking explosions beneath his soles to propel him, towards the nearest Beowulf. He swiped forward with his mace, The Executioner, burying it into a Beowulf's shoulder. It promptly detonated, obliterating the Beowulf's upper half into smoking gore.

It went on like that for a while, the entire clearing ringing with explosions. By the time Cardin had defeated all the surrounding Grimm save their Alpha, there was a small fire starting up.

Cardin raised his hand and then thrusted them downwards. A blast of air rather than fire and sound, blew out the flames, thereby preventing the potential forest fire.

The Alpha Beowulf stepped forward. It was twice the size of the other Beowulves, with a lot more bone armor and spikes on its body. It stepped forward a bit before it was literally blindsided, due to a shortsword burying itself into one of its eyes.

Cardin looked to appraise the newcomer.

It was a guy with a pale green mohawk, dressed in a brownish green sleeveless hoodie and camouflage pants, with spiked pauldrons.

"Hey there, new partner." He said, twirling a second shortsword in his hand. "Name's Russel. Russel Thrush. Wanna take him down together?"

"Hmph" Cardin readied The Executioner. "Don't get in my way. My semblance doesn't account for precision."

The duo dashed forward. Russel being faster, reached Alpha Beowulf first and violently ripped his weapon out, causing it to swing it's claws around to hit him, sending Russel flying away then faced Cardin, who gave an overhead swing, which Alpha Beowulf dodged. It was useless, as the missed mace impacted the ground, causing a burst of flames which briefly swallowed the Grimm whole.

As the Alpha Beowulf tumbled away from the flames, Russel appeared and quickly slashed at the Grimm's tendons, bringing it down to its knees and rendering it vulnerable to Cardin, who stuck his mace into the Grimm's mouth.

"Let's see if you're as tough on the inside." Cardin pulled the trigger, which caused a torrent to race down Alpha Beowulf's throat and ruptured its body violently. He pulled his weapon free and hefted it onto his shoulder.

"Guess you're not." He turned to his new partner. "I'm Cardin Winchester. Nice to meet you. How did you not die from that earlier hit?"

"My semblance is Hardening." As Russel spoke, his body suddenly took a jagged and rocklike appearance. "I'm impervious to most forms of physical damage when I'm like this."

"My Semblance is Explosion." A small one blasted in Cardin's raised palm for emphasis. "I can create explosions from any where on my body. Fire, air, sound, as long as it can be considered an 'explosion', I can do it. Fire's easiest though."

Cardin and Russel then shook hands and headed North. 'I wonder how that Faker is doing. I don't care if he fails but He better not die. Not in a place or time like this.'

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha had arrived at the mouth of a dark cave, where drawings were seen to the side involving armed men against giant beasts.

"Think this is it?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe."

Jaune nodded, then stepped inside, after lighting a burning torch to light the way.

"Uhh, Jaune. About earlier, I've changed my mind. I'm not sure this is it." Pyrrha responded to Jaune's earlier question.

Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for, like, five more feet? If it's empty or dangerous, we leave."

Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, Jaune tripped on the ground, and the torch flew into a small puddle, extinguishing the flame so the two were cast in darkness.

As Jaune got up and grumbled, Pyrrha asked. "Do you... feel that?"

"Soul-crushing regret?" Jaune responded.

"No, it's... warm." Pyrrha observed.

Jaune reached out with his Observation haki and _did not_ like what he found. He turned to Pyrrha. "We're leaving. _Now!_ "

Pyrrha didn't hesitate but as they barely moved five inches, the floor under Jaune's feet cracked.

There was silence for a second before Jaune swore heavily enough to make Pyrrha blush scandalously.

"Dodge!" Tackling her out of the way, Jaune and Pyrrha barely avoided the gigantic golden stinger of the Death Stalker.

"What do we do? Fight or run?" Pyrrha asked as they got combat ready.

"We run! We can't fight it properly in this space!" Jaune dodged the stinger again before catching it before it retracted. "Quick! Cut it off!"

Pyrrha hefted her sword before she was suddenly hit aside by the Death Stalker's pincer.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune was shocked enough to loosen his stance a bit, which allowed the Death Stalker to dangle him right in front of it like a caught fish.

"H-Hey there." Jaune said nervously. "How about we-" He didn't finish before the Grimm hurls its tail back and launches a screaming Jaune across the forest.

Pyrrha looked at her disappearing partner and then turned back to the scorpion as it continued to snap its claws at her, and she smiled embarrassedly before turning and rushing away.

'Jaune, please don't forget your Aura again and die! You're the first potential friend I've had in years. And maybe more...' Pyrrha thoughts went to places she didn't think existed before.

The Death Stalker looked in the direction of the sunny-haired human it had just thrown. The human smelled of magic just like its substitute mistress and the male who opposed her. Despite its immense age, it could tell the sunny-haired human was worth abandoning its refuge for.

A Mage has appeared.

_Hunt and Devour._

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Cardin Winchester**

**Age: 17**

**Title: The Explosive Berserker**

**Aura: Brownish Orange**

**Color Motif: Brown, Black**

**Semblance: Explosion. As long as it can count as an explosion, Cardin can create it from anywhere on his body.**

**Sex: Male**

**Alignment: True Neutral**

**Likes: Training, Hamburgers**

**Dislikes: Jaune Arc, Slackers, White Fang**

**Bio: When Cardin was a child, he was actually close friends with Jaune Arc and Alice Snowlander. Unfortunately, his mother was killed by the White Fang during a conference to aid Faunus Rights. This would not only mark the White Fang's change from peaceful protesters to violent terrorists, but also the undying hatred of Cardin's hatred towards Faunus in general.**

**As he has grown older, His hatred towards Faunus has reduced to indifference while his hatred for the White Fang rages on. One of the few positive things in his one-sided rivalry to Jaune, which had devolved from friendship when Jaune and Alice refused to** **denounce** **Faunus.**

**He is especially wary of Jaune's growth rate, as Jaune only needed a year to catch up with Cardin's four years of training.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like the Grimm have different reactions to Mages compared to other humans and faunus. There's a reason for that. The Deity Brothers are not the only gods of Remnant...


	5. Ominous Appearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Initiation continues, with more Team CRDL added in.

Jaune flew through the air, already **Hardening** his bones for preparation of a rough landing before he collided with a person? Jaune shook his head free from dizziness and looked at his unfortunate cushion.

"Eh-hem!" Ruby looked up to see him hanging upside down from a higher branch. "Hey Ruby." Jaune said.

Bow Girl and Yang stared at them from the temple. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?" the former asked.

"I…" Yang began but was interrupted by a growling sound in the forest in front of her.

A large explosion was heard and an Ursa appeared from the forest. Another explosion was heard from behind it and the sound of Nora going "YEEEE-HAAAAW!"

The Ursa collapsed, revealing that Nora was riding it against its will.

"Awwww... It's broken." Nora groaned as the Ursa started to decompose.

Nora dashed onto its neck and observed the carcass as Ren came up behind her.

Ren was panting and leaning on the monster. "Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again."

When he received no response, Ren looked up to see that Nora was gone. Just empty space where she used to be.

Nora was instead at the temple, looking at a golden rook relic. "Oooohh." She grabbed it and made various poses.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang.

"Nora!" Ren yelled. Nora stopped dancing with the rook on her head, then saluted, dropping the relic into her hand. She left to join her friend.

"Did that girl just ride in on a Ursa?" Bow Girl asked Yang.

"I…" Yang began but was again interrupted. This time by the sound of the Death Stalker as it chased Pyrrha into the clearing.

The Death Stalker attempted to grab Pyrrha, who dodged by jumping through its pincers. "Jaune!" She yelled, noticing him in the tree.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune responded, getting himself loose.

"Wow." Ruby looked at the Death Stalker and hopped down from the tree to the temple.

"I'm coming." Jaune prepared to jump down as well, before stopping and looking upwards to the sky in surprise.

Ruby landed in front of Yang and Bow Girl.

"Ruby?" Yang was surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Yang!" Ruby raised her arms to give her sister a hug.

"Nora!" the girl herself yelled, interrupting the sister as she suddenly appeared between them, giving them both a shock.

Pyrrha was still being chased by the Death Stalker in the nearby clearing.

"Did she just run all the way here with a death stalker on her tail?" Bow Girl asked another question while Nora waved her body around having fun and Yang tried to keep in the built-up frustration.

* **BOOM***

The part of the forest where Nora and Ren had just emerged from, literally exploded, revealing Cardin, Russel, two other armored boys and an Alpha Creep Grimm. Then without any acknowledgement to the others, Cardin and co. continued their deathmatch with Alpha Creep.

"Ooohh! An Alpha!" Nora squeezed her weapon in excitement. "Ren, I wanna go join in!"

"Nora, no!" Ren responded. "If go in like that, you'll cause more harm than good as a sudden distraction _to our fellow students._ "

"Did those guys just coincidentally bring their fight with that Grimm all the way here?" Bow Girl asked Yang again.

Yang figuratively exploded. "I can't take it anymore!" Her eyes turned red and flames visibly appeared around her. "Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

There was a bit of silence lasting exactly two seconds as Ren ran up to join Nora, then Ruby decided to point out something to Yang "Um… Yang." She said, then pointed up.

Weiss was holding onto a talon as she flew through the air, hanging from an enormous Nevermore.

"How could you leave me?" Weiss screamed down at her partner.

"I said jump." Ruby replied as she Yang, Bow Girl, Nora and Ren watched from below.

"She's gonna fall." Bow Girl mentioned.

"She'll be fine." Ruby answered.

"She's falling." Ren observed.

Jaune, having gotten himself up from the branch to a suitably higher one, prepared to catch Weiss as she was falling.

Jaune jumped from his branch, catching Weiss mid-air, but then realized that he didn't have a plan following this and the two fell to the ground with Weiss landing on Jaune's back.

"My hero." Weiss sarcastically commented as one of Cardin's troupe was smacked by the Alpha Creep's tail away from the group to land near them.

"My back." Jaune groaned.

A second smack, from the Death Stalker this time, and Pyrrha was sent flying to the ground near Bow Girl, Ren, Nora, Yang and Ruby.

"Great! The gangs are all here, now we can all die together!" Yang commented in sarcasm.

"Not if I can help it." Ruby said as she charged towards the Death Stalker.

"Ruby! Wait!" Yang tried to warned her sister, but to no avail.

Ruby! No! Don't be a Leeroy Jenkins!" Jaune yelled as he got up to follow her.

Ruby fired her weapon behind her, using the recoil to attack the massive scorpion.

Unfortunately Ruby's attempt failed, allowing the Death Stalker to swat her away with its armored claws.

"D-Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" Ruby said as she slowly got up.

Ruby then turned to see the Grimm attack her. She quickly fired at it dealing no damage, but the recoil at least, helped her get away as she ran to regroup with the others.

"Ruby!" Yang followed Jaune's charge to her sister in order to help.

Ruby continued to run but the distance between them was large and the Nevermore was also chasing her.

The Nevermore then fired its massive feathers at Ruby, but was hindered as Jaune got between them and raised his shield to protect them both from the feathered hail.

The Nevermore then fired more feathers This time blocking Yang's path to Ruby. Yang suddenly stopped because of this.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled in shock as she feared for her partner's life.

Jaune and Ruby's predicament has given the Death Stalker time to catch up with them. It raised its tail, readying itself to deal a fatal blow to the young knight.

"Ruby!" Yang tried to reach through the feathers as a white blur travelled past her.

As the Death Stalker's attack was about to land, an ice wall appeared to freeze it's tail in place.

"You are so childish." Weiss spoke in the sudden silence.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked as she is sat on the floor and Jaune lowered his shield in relief.

"And dim-witted, and hyperactive." Weiss continued, getting up from her knee to face Ruby. "And don't even get me started on your fighting style."

"But I suppose… I can be a bit…" Weiss tried to find the right word. "Difficult. And if we're going to do this, We're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off. I'll be… nicer."

"Thank you for catching me earlier," Weiss said to Jaune as he raised his finger to indicate himself, if he would be getting nice words as well. "That's it. Nothing else." Jaune wilted in disappointment.

Ruby then stood up and responded. "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine as you are." Weiss replied, walking away.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, then closed her eyes and clasped her hands as she gratefully whispered, "Normal knees."

Yang ran up to her sister and hugged her. "I'm so happy you're okay."

The Nevermore screeched, still flying in the air.

"Guys." Jaune pointed up to the flying Grimm. "That thing's circling back. What are we gonna do?"

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying." Weiss answered. "Our objective is right in front of us." All eight of them looked over to the relics.

"She's right." Ruby agreed. "Our mission is to grab an artefact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live… that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune also agreed. At this point everyone is in agreement. Jaune then looked over at Cardin's group. "MONGREL!"

After he had gotten Cardin's attention, he yelled out, "The relics are over here. You guys have to pass, not win!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Faker!" Cardin yelled back, smashing his mace on Alpha Creep's face and detonating it simultaneously to send it flying back a bit. " We're gonna pass _and win!_ "

"Well, I tried." Jaune looked back to the others. Ruby grabbed a Golden Knight piece and Jaune grabbed a Golden Rook.

Meanwhile, the Death Stalker was starting to break free from the ice. Noticing this, Ren declared to the group. "Time we left."

"Right." Ruby agreed. "Let's go." She waved for the others to follow her.

Yang stood still as the others followed.

"What is it?" Bow Girl asked Yang, to find that she was staring proudly at Ruby as she leapt on a boulder and motioned the group onward.

"Nothing." Yang smiled as she decided to catch up with the others. Bow Girl followed shortly behind.

* * *

The group had now left the forest and entered a different set of abandoned structures, with Cardin's group now among them after introducing themselves ("How did you guys get away?" Jaune asked. Russel was the one who replied. "We ditched it. Winning's not worth potentially failing Initiation"). The Nevermore was still circling them.

As they moved forwards, they eventually hid behind some pillars near a bridge that led to a large tower the Nevermore was using as a perch. The flying Grimm screeched at them, making it clear that it knew where they were.

"Fuck." Jaune and Cardin said in sync.

"Well, that's great." Yang commented from behind the same pillar as Ruby.

Behind the group, the Death Stalker and the Alpha Creep charge out of the forest, assumedly having followed them there.

"Oh man run!" Jaune gave the order as he and Pyrrha charged to the next pillar.

Ruby and Yang follow suit and Ren decided they all need cover. "Nora, distract it." He told his partner.

"Russel, cover her." Cardin ordered his own partner as well.

Nora, Ren and Russel charged into the clearing between pillars and Ren dodged a volley of feathers from the Nevermore. Nora took out her weapon and used the grenade launcher to barrage the flying Grimm, preventing it from attacking the others as they approached the bridge while Russel stood in front of her, blocking all the feathers that were aimed at her.

From behind, the Death Stalker and Alpha Creep charged to attack Nora while she was firing her weapon. Fortunately, Blake, Ren and the two others with Cardin countered its attacks for her and Weiss used her semblance to put some distance between them and the monster.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha yelled as she made it to the bridge. She took out Miló in rifle form and fired at the armored Grimm following them.

Blake, Ren and the others narrowly made it to the bridge before the monsters and together, the entire group cross. The Death Stalker and the Alpha Creep were unable to follow them due to the small width of the bridge.

Unfortunately, the group weren't out of danger yet as the Nevermore flew into the bridge, knocking out the middle section.

Jaune, Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Nora ended up on the tower side of the bridge while the others had to defend themselves against the Death Stalker and Alpha Creep while standing on a very small segment of the broken bridge.

Blake was knocked back by the massive scorpion as the others struggled with keeping them at bay.

"Man, we've got to get over there." Jaune said, worried that the seven of them won't be enough. "They need help!"

"Let's do this." Nora agreed, standing beside him.

"Yeah, but, uh... I don't think i can make that jump." Jaune loomed over at the massive gap between them.

Nora chuckled at this, then knocked Jaune back a bit as she changed Magnhild into a hammer. She then jumped into the air and hit the end of the broken bridge. This caused the part Jaune was standing on to jolt upwards, launching the young man to the other side.

"Oh, wait. No, no, no!" Jaune yelled as he flew through the air.

Nora stood on her hammer as the bridge bellow her crumbled. She fired the weapon so that the recoil sent her forward towards the Death Stalker.

As Nora arrived, she slammed her hammer into the beast's head. The Grimm retaliated by striking its pincer at her which she quickly jumped back from.

Unfortunately, Nora's evasive maneuver caused her to knock into Blake, sending the black-haired girl of the bridge and into the foggy pit below the bridge.

Thinking quickly, Blake used her weapon as a whip to swing herself up. As she did so, she noticed the Nevermore flying around them. She decided to swing herself up towards the Grimm and used her Semblance to gain the extra height needed. Once she reached it, she struck at its face then ran across its back, slashing at it as she did so. Finally she jumped down and landed near the top of the tower, where her soon to be teammates were standing.

"It's tougher than it looks." Blake reported what she learnt from her stunt.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got!" Yang replied as she readied Ember Celica.

The Nevermore flew back at them as the girls ready their weapons.

The girls each fired their ranged weapons as the Nevermore got closer. The barrage of weapons didn't work as the Grimm flew through the tower, knocking out the supports that kept the girls up.

Each of the girls climbed the rubble as it fell, Blake using her semblance, Weiss using her Glyphs and Ruby and Yang using recoil to get themselves higher.

"None of this is working." Weiss observed as she and Ruby got themselves on a platform together.

Ruby looked over at Blake's weapon in it's whip form and Yang keeping the Grimm occupied. "I have a plan." She told Weiss. "Cover me."

* * *

Meanwhile Jaune's group were still fighting the Death Stalker while Cardin's group continued their fight with the Alpha Creep. The armored scorpion used its tail to stab the closer part of the bridge. This unbalanced the team as the remaining part is only balancing on a single pillar.

"We gotta move!" Jaune told the others. So they all charged at the Grimm.

First the Death Stalker attacked with its right claw but this was blocked by Pyrrha who then used her sword to cut at it. Next came its left claw, but Jaune followed Pyrrha's example by blocking it, then jumped back a bit towards Pyrrha.

"Cover me!" Pyrrha nodded and proceeded to shoot at the scorpion with her weapon in rifle mode, while Jaune brought out his Key again.

" **Open, Gate of the Maiden!" **Jaune declared, " **Virgo!"**

The celestial maid once more appeared in front of him. "What do you wish of me, Master?"

"Sink the Death Stalker's legs into the ground and then assist us till the battle ends!" Jaune ordered, putting his Key away and readying his weapons again.

"As you wish." Virgo slammed her hands onto the ground. " **Spica Sink!** "

The ground underneath the scorpion caved in around its legs then promptly hardened up afterwards. Ren took advantage of this, firing his weapons at the Grimm, but this just caused it to lunge its tail at him. Ren swiftly dodged it and climbed onto the tail as it ascended, giving him a good vantage point to fire his guns.

Nora fired her explosives at the Death Stalker as it pushed Jaune and Pyrrha away. Recovering quickly, Pyrrha threw her spear at one of the scorpion's eyes, causing it to shake in pain. This shaking caused its tail to launch Ren at a wall behind it, he was saved by Virgo before he impacted it.

"Ren!" Nora cried. Jaune batted away a stray attack from the frenzied Death Stalker, which was trying its best to rampage but was still stuck in Virgo's trap. As he did so, he noticed the stinger was loose and would fall at any moment.

"Pyrrha!" He yelled, indicating at the stinger.

"Done!" Pyrrha threw her shield at the stinger, causing it to fall and dig into the Grimm's head. Strangely, the shield bounced back in an unnatural way and returned to its owner.

"Nora, nail it." Jaune gave the command.

"Heads up." Nora replied as she jumped onto Jaune's shield, which was being held above the boy's head, and fired her weapon as Jaune jumped. This caused Nora to be launched high into the air, and she smiled the entire way.

As she descended, she fired again to gain some speed and started spinning. When she reached the ground, she smashed her hammer into the stinger, embedding it deep into the monster's head.

The impact from the strike caused Pyrrha, Jaune and Nora to be launched away from the bridge and onto solid ground. But as they were doing so, Pyrrha retrieved her spear from the Grimm that then fell into the foggy pit, disappearing into the darkness.

The four tried their best to recover from the ordeal. Ren was especially out of breath as he collapsed on his face.

"Excellent work, Master." Virgo intoned to Jaune as she sat him up. "Will there be anything else?"

"No, Virgo." Jaune said between panting breaths. "You can go." She then disappeared.

"Wh-Who was that?" Ren asked with his face still in the dirt.

"Ill explain later. Lets just rest a bit and check on the others." Jaune replied, getting the other's agreement.

Unknown to the group, a shadowy figure in a hood spied on them from a distance. _"I see now. I wondered what caused that Elder Death Stalker to leave his nest. Still, I'm not satisfied yet. Beyond this sunny-haired human, there are still three more humans I sense with magic, all currently in combat. I'll check on the others. It's always good to have good contingency plans._ _Hehehe..."_

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Ruby Rose**

**Age: 15**

**Title: The Red-Hooded Girl with a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe**

**Aura: Red**

**Color Motif: Red, Black**

**Semblance: Petal Burst. This allows her to move at superspeed with the addition of temporarily transforming into rose petals while doing so. In 'rose petal' form, she is not only able to gain limited flight, but also becomes capable of carrying others with her as long as she's capable of carrying them.**

**Sex: Female**

**Alignment: Lawful Good**

**Likes: Her family, Crescent Rose, Cookies and Milk, her friends**

**Dislikes: Grimm**

**Bio: Ruby is the youngest daughter of the Xiao Long-Rose Household and was trained by her Stepuncle, Qrow Branwen, to become a Scythe wielder. She really likes sweets.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was a bit confusing, tying in Virgo's addition to team JNPR. I'll do my best to find situations to summon her more.


	6. Fu! Sion! Ha!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boss battle chapter right here.

The shadow figure appeared in a burst of black smoke, stealthily observing Nevermore's battle against the four girls.

Yang was firing her weapon at it from the top of a pillar. As the bird flew at her, she jumped at it and stood inside its mouth and she emptied her rounds down its throat.

"I! Hope! You're! Hung! Gry!" she yelled. Yang then jumped down to the ground as the Nevermore crashed into the cliff, landing on some ruins.

As the Grimm tried to take flight again, Weiss rushed in as Yang retreated. The heiress froze the bird's tail to the ruins, making it unable to move.

Weiss backed out using her glyphs while Blake and Yang used Gambol Shroud to create a slingshot out of the nearby pillars.

Ruby jumped onto the slingshot, using her scythe as a foothold while Weiss used her glyphs to draw the younger girl back.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss commented.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.

Weiss smiled confidently and replies sarcastically "Can I."

Ruby didn't pick up on the sarcasm. "Can you…?"

"Of course I can!" Weiss interrupted.

As Ruby loaded her weapon, the glyph turned red to match her Aura. Weiss then released it, sending Ruby flying at the Nevermore.

"Incoming!" Ruby fired Crescent Rose to accelerate herself and when she reached the bird, she caught its neck with her scythe, sending them both into the cliff. Weiss raised her sword and created a series of white glyphs up the wall, which Ruby dashed through by firing the entire way up.

Yang, Blake, and an exhausted Weiss watched her climb up with the bird in her grasp until, both warrior and monster crying out, Ruby reached the top of the cliff, circled up, fired one last shot, and severed the Nevermore's head from its shoulders in a shower of ichor and petals.

Ruby landed beside the severed head as the body of the giant Nevermore fell lifeless into the ruins and crevice below to join the Death Stalker while the girls and, farther away, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren watched in amazement.

"Wow." Jaune remarked as they all looked up to see Ruby standing at the top of the cliff, rose petals trailing out from her cape.

"Well." Yang looked to Weiss and Blake who stand beside her. "That was a thing." She joked.

The Shadow Figure stared long and hard at Ruby's form as she kicked the Nevermore's head down as well _"A Silver-Eye! And she isn't even Awakened yet!"_ It looked down to stare at the other girls. _"Two more down in the ruins. I recognize the Snow King's descendant, but I don't know the other."_

***BOOM***

An Explosion rang out from Cardin's side, gaining the Shadow Figure's attention. It debated a bit before vanishing towards the battle. _"Even though I sense no Magic in that direction, it's always good to be sure regardless."_

* * *

Russel landed heavily on the ground, before rolling away to avoid getting stomped. The battle with the Alpha Creep was reaching a boiling point as the four of them pressed on.

Dove Bronzewing, a brown-haired boy in tan armor wielding a single sword with an inbuilt pistol, sild under the Grimm, slashing its unprotected underside as he did so. He might have died had Sky Lark not thrown his halberd to block the Alpha Creep's tail from gouging out his partner's torso.

"We're gonna need a plan for this." Russel said to Cardin as they ran past each other.

"I've got one!" Cardin shouted back. "I'm gonna blast it to Kingdom Come. The moment I yell, you guys get clear."

"I'll tell the others." Russel headed off to the other duo, who had been keeping the Alpha Creep busy. Cardin however, backed up a bit to implement his plan. He put his mace away and after shaking his hands to psych himself, Cardin started a running leap.

Using his Aura to amplify his jump, Cardin used his semblance to propel himself even higher, and then yelled for his comrades to get clear.

The Alpha Creep noticing the humans who it had been trying to kill, just move away suddenly, turned to face the supposed leader of the group.

After getting the Grimm's attention, Cardin used his explosions to propel himself towards the Grimm in a circular motion while creating a tornado. The ensuing twister collected oxygen and momentum to fuel the subsequent explosion he was aiming for.

 **"Ansel Impact!"** The resulting blast not only obliterated the Alpha Creep's back as it tried to dodge but was loud and powerful enough for the shockwave to to hit _everyone_ in the forest, including Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch.

* * *

"Oh my." Ozpin calmly sipped from his cup while Goodwitch steadied herself. "I'll have to warn Mr. Winchester to never use that move within Beacon walls except in the Combat Arena."

"Says the one who won't be responsible for fixing the damage from it." Professor Goodwitch grumbled and looked through her Tablet to recalibrate the cameras near the blast site.

* * *

Cardin grunted as the Grimm weakly tried to stand once more.

"None of that now." Cardin climbed its back, deliberately stepping onto the wound he made. "This is the part where you _die._ "

 **"Armament: Infusion!" **Cardin brought down The Executioner on the Alpha Creep's face once more, except that this time, the resulting explosion had black sparkling particles.

Unlike the previous time when Cardin's explosions barely scratched the Alpha Creep's face armor, the **Infused** explosion obliterated part of the Grimm's head.

"I-Its over. Thank the Brothers." Sky moaned as he sank to his knees.

"Why didn't you use that from the beginning?" Dove panted, sitting next to his partner.

"Like hell I could." Cardin returned his weapon to his back. " **Armament: Infusion** is the strongest of all **Armament** techniques, which requires a few seconds of charge time. Charge time which would have gotten any of us killed if we were too slow."

"Come on." Russel stretched a bit before facing the others. "We've gotten the relics _and_ beaten our Grimm. Let's leave before something else comes around to kill us."

It was with tired sighs all around as the jock-type Huntsmen-in-Training got up to leave.

* * *

All twelve students soon reunited with each other, congratulating themselves on their victories. They were unprepared for what happened next.

***CRASH***

The Shadow Figure which had been watching them from afar, had finally shown itself before them.

The others were confused and shocked at its sudden appearance, but Jaune, Ren and Cardin, the only three present with Observation Haki, instantly went into their guards with weapons ready, suppressing their instincts, which was screaming to run away.

"Who are you?" Jaune motioned for his comrades to copy him as Cardin accosted the Shadow Figure.

 _"There's no need for be on guard against me."_ Absolutely no one bought that. It chuckled a bit in response to that. _"I was only going to observe, but now I find myself wanting more. All twelve of you shall now fight your opponent once more!"_

"'Fight you opponent once more'? We just killed ours. It's not coming back." Blake said in confusion.

"If It was serious about not fighting us itself, does that mean it has an accomplice nearby?" Ren said, casting a suspicious eye around their surroundings.

"Probably." Dove aimed his Pistol-Sword at the Shadow Figure. "It said 'opponent' as in _singular._ If It was really observing us, It should know know that our fights were against multiple Grimm, not a single one all twelve of us ganged up on."

 _"Well... You've got the right idea."_ The Shadow Figure gestured at Dove before It raised it's hand to slam it into the ground.

 _ **"All of you, Return here"**_ The Shadow Figure invoked as a large purple glyph appeared underneath It. _**"and Unite."**_

The ground quaked as three giant streams of black energy with purple outlines, blasted out of the glyph. Each of the energy streams branched out, heading for the battle sites where the Grimm had died to the teenagers.

"W-What's happening?" Ruby hugged her scythe to her chest with a terrified motion.

"I-I don't know. But get behind me, just in case." It spoke a lot of Ruby's current mood that she didn't protest Yang's order request as usual.

The energy streams returned with the carcasses of the deceased Grimm from earlier.

"The Nevermore?!" Weiss yelled.

"The Death Stalker?!" Pyrrha joined Weiss in gawking.

"The Creep?!" Russel snarled in frustration.

The three Grimm smashed into each other, their flesh and bones noisily breaking, tearing and mending to form a new appearance.

 _"I only have one thing to say to all of you. Win or Die. Your choice. Hehehe.."_ As It finished speaking, It's form began destabilizing into black smoke, then vanished.

The carcasses had finished merging, becoming a solid fifteen meters in height alone. The Chimera possessed armored wings which belonged to the Nevermore; pincers and armored back of the Death Stalker; and the tail and legs of the Alpha Creep. The head had become a horrible mashup of the three Grimm. It primarily took the form of the Nevermore's head except it now had too many eyes whenever it opened its beak, one would see an inner set of jaws with sharp fangs. The Chimera breathed in then-

_**"SKREEEEEOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNK!"** _

* * *

Professor Goodwitch was working herself into a panic. "Sir! We have to stop Initiation and retrieve those children. I'll call Peter and -"

"No."

Ozpin's calm word cut through her tirade, causing Goodwitch to look at the Headmaster in shock. "W-What do you mean 'no'?"

"Glynda, this is a combat school." Professor Ozpin spoke, his calm contrasting her earlier hysteria. "As teachers, there comes a time when we have to train our students on how to react to foreign scenarios like this."

Ozpin looked away from his Scroll and onto the ruins, where he could almost see the battle happening.

"Here's what you'll do. Take Peter and Bartholomew with you and standby. Unless it looks like a student is about to die, _do not engage._ Understood?"

Goodwitch nodded her acceptance and ran off, leaving Ozpin to his thoughts.

* * *

All twelve students cowered at the roar of such primal _malice._ And would have nearly died had Jaune, in a state of frenzied panic, screamed out a single word.

 **"DODGE!"** Instincts, hammered in from years of training, caused them to jump away from the monster, who had just moved at blistering speed to smash the place where they were just standing a second ago.

 **"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"** Virgo appeared into the battlefield, instantly zeroing in the Chimera.

 **"Spica Lock. "** Boulders ripped themselves out of the ground to crush the Chimera.

"Quickly!" Ruby took charge, aiming her weapon. "Everyone with long range, use it while it's still trapped!"

For twelve long seconds, there was nothing but chaos as everybody who could shoot _something_ at it, did so with great enthusiasm. Soon, there was a large plum of smoke where the Chimera was. Then It flapped it's wings.

The **Spica Lock** was gone, showing that despite how powerful their attacks had been, it hadn't been enough as the Chimera only had small wounds on it. Wounds that were _rapidly healing into_ _nonexistence_.

The Chimera flapped its wings once more, sending a volley of feathers at them. Ruby, with her trained eyesight, noticed that the spines of these feathers were white instead of black, indicating they were armored feathers, thereby harder to destroy or block.

 **"Spica Wall. "** Virgo punched the ground, creating a vast wall of earth to rise up between the monster and the teenagers, thereby blocking the onslaught.

"Master, I see two options to your survival right now." Virgo spoke briefly, using the wall to create a gigantic dome that covered the Chimera. "I do not believe I am capable of defeating that... _thing_ so I will point them out for you."

"What do we have to do?" asked Pyrrha in determination, as everyone readied themselves.

Virgo gave them all a brief stare before speaking. "Run away. or... become Archester."

"WHAT?!" Jaune and Cardin yelled in sync.

"No way-"

"Impossible"

"With _him?_ "

"Like hell I'll-"

"Enough!" Virgo snapped, shutting up the aforementioned boys. "That was one option, Master. If it isn't satisfactory, you and your friends can simply run away."

Jaune seriously considered the pros and cons of what he was about to do, before shaking his head. "We can't run away. Not only do we know that Grimm's moves as we were the ones to kill them- err, it, if we leave that Grimm, it fly away to some other place to terrorize some other innocent people."

Ren added his own input. "Especially since that Grimm is composed of one Alpha and two Elders. Letting something that old _and_ powerful live on would be a really bad move."

There was a bit of silence till Nora finally asked, "What does Virgo mean 'become Archester'?" To everyone's surprise, Jaune and Cardin blushed a bit.

"N-Now's not the time." Jaune said hotly. "It's breaking out."

The **Spica Dome** finally broke down, revealing the Chimera in all it's unholy glory. Virgo groaned as the magical backlash caused her to sink to her knee.

"Virgo, you've helped enough!" Jaune said, saving her from another feathered hail. "Return!"

"My sincere apologies, Master." Virgo bowed in submission, before hesitantly speaking again. "Jaune.."

Jaune turned back in shock. She hadn't called his name since he first contracted her.

"Please... don't die." She then returned to the Celestial Spirit Realm.

Jaune stared at the spot she stood, sparkles still present, before looking at his group. "Guys. Make me a ten second window."

Pyrrha, Nora and Ren replied in sync. **"Alright!"**

"Cardin!" Cardin looked to see Jaune running to him.

He gritted his teeth then looked to his future team. "Help them!" After he got their acknowledgement, he then stood by Jaune's side.

And then Jaune and Cardin did the Fusion Dance.

First, they turned their arms in the opposite direction of each other while stepping on their toes.

Secondly, they turned their arms clockwise towards each other while taking three small steps closer.

Thirdly, they lifted their outward knees up into the air while turning it towards each other.

Finally, they pointed their fingertips to each other and touched fingers while straightening out their knees to the ground, perfectly becoming a synonymous duo.

While doing all of the above, they slowly chanted, both sporting heavy blushes.

**"FU! SION! HA!"**

* * *

Back on the Cliff, Ozpin, the only one to pay full attention to the strange ritual, had a blank stare at the results.

"...what."

* * *

There was a sudden blast of light from the Knight duo. Everyone, from the students to the hidden teachers to even the Chimera, stopped to stare.

There was a Huntsman standing where Jaune and Cardin had just been seconds ago. He was taller than even Cardin, sporting scraggly blonde hair which was burnt orange at the roots, bluish indigo eyes and a confident smile. He was dressed in gleaming silver armor, which looked like a fusion of Jaune's and Cardin's.

"It's alright everyone. I am Archester and _I'm_ here now."

Ruby was the first to speak. "What the-"

She didn't finish her question as the Chimera snapped out of it and charged forward. It ignored the others focusing only on Archester. It was going to-

_It was being crushed. An armored giant in silver armor, wreathed in white smoke was crushing it, crushing it, crushing it, crushin-_

The Supreme King-type Haki released, leaving the Chimera disoriented as Archester took a step forward, flash stepping right in front of the Grimm, then kicked forward. The Grimm was blasted backwards as Archester's leg had detonated with the kick.

Now a fair distance, Archester cupped his hands together while pooling his Explosion into them. An ominous glow lit up, giving his face a rather dark look.

The Chimera, while newly born, still possessed the experiences of three long-lived Grimm and promptly decided that living to kill another day was the valid course of action, and then proceeded to fly away.

 **"Air Blast." **A blast of air from his feet, propelled Archester forward. He continued to do so until he was suddenly in front of it. "No one gave you permission to run away now."

"Now, Disappear." He then put his arms forward, displaying the contained explosion, which had grown up to the size of a large beach ball.

 **"Armament: Infusion."** The explosive energy now had sparkling black particles in it as well.

**"Exploding Flare Cannon."**

Then it fired. No, 'fired' was a term too loose for this. This was an Explosion, concentrated to focus on a singular target, granting the very concept of 'Annihilation'. The Chimera was not hit so much as evaporated from existence, leaving nothing left.

Archester, from the top of a tree he landed in, stared at the remains of where the Chimera used to be, before returning to the others.

"That was awesome!" Nora said, staring at Archester as if he was the coolest thing in existence.

"Of course I am." Archester replied, crossing his arms in arrogance. "With Jaune's Aura and Magic(Goodwitch choked a bit) and Cardin's Semblance, I am awesome."

"Hey, tone down the arrogance a bit." Blake said.

'Is it arrogance if I have the power to back it up? Oh well.' Archester looked around a bit. 'I can sense Professor Goodwitch and two others with her, but...'

"I can't sense that shadow guy anymore..." That killed the good mood quickly.

"He's right. I can't sense him anymore." Ren said, giving a look around as well. His pause on Goodwitch's location showed that he'd noticed her as well.

Archester suddenly stumbled, becoming two people again. Cardin collapsed into Dove and Sky's arms while Jaune collapsed into Pyrrha's. Ruby then gave the command to leave which they obeyed, unaware of the shadowy figure still hidden in the trees.

 _"I love it when a gamble works out like this. I shall relay this news to my mistress."_ It vanished into a plume of black smoke, this time for real.

* * *

After a brief trip to the school's infirmary and some rest, they were now at the auditorium where Professor Ozpin was announcing the teams.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience clapped to applaud them. Jaune sighed 'I wonder how long his ego will ride that...'

Team CRDL left the stage and were replaced by the next group.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin said their names as they stood before him. "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

More clapping as the new team smiled and Nora hugged Ren.

'Wait, _Lie Ren?_ I've been calling him by his surname?' Jaune thought in shock.

"Led by." Ozpin continued. "Jaune Arc."

This surprised Jaune out of his shock. "Wait, What?!"

"L-Led by?" Jaune nervously repeated while Pyrrha smiled at him.

"Congratulations young man." Ozpin said.

Pyrrha bumped Jaune on the arm in congratulations, unfortunately Jaune was still in shock about it and ended up being pushed to the ground. Laughter was heard from the audience.

"And finally. Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin announced the last team as JNPR leaves the stage and were replaced by the aforementioned girls. "The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY." The audience cheered again.

"Led by… Ruby Rose." Ozpin said as Weiss and Ruby gained shocked expressions, for different reasons.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang hugged her sister and new leader.

It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin stated as he looked upon the new members of his school in pride.

* * *

Inside a new building, Roman Torchwick was standing in front of a map while looking at a message in his Scroll.

"Team Leader, huh." Roman said as he put his Scroll away. "Little Knight's gonna be in a world of stress from now on."

He sighed and lighted his cigarette. "Then again, I'm in a world of stress myself."

A man in a grey mask and black hood came with a trolley. Roman handed over some lien as payment.

"Open it." Torchwick commanded. The other man did so to reveal an assortment of differently colored Dust crystals.

Torchwick picked one up. "We're gonna need more men." He looked back to the map behind him. It was a map of the City of Vale with hand written annotations of the important areas such as Forever Fall, Commercial District and Beacon Academy.

* * *

The Shadow Figure flew across the Land of Darkness, a barren wasteland, with rocky terrain, enormous purple crystals sprouting from the ground and pools of a viscous, tar-like substance, all underneath a dark red sky, until it reached the Black Tower. It circled the Tower once before landing to the ground. It then bowed, bending its head to touch the ground while on it's knees. _"My Mistress. I come bearing news"._

There was silence before a woman stepped forth from the shadows. She could have passed for an attractive woman, especially with her large bust and shapely figure in her flowing, black dress. That was where the 'attractive' ended. Her skin was of deathly pallor, with black sclerae and glowing purple eyes and also pale white hair styled into a large bun.

**_"Speak."_ **

_"I have found three Mages and a Silver-Eyed Warrior. Out of all of them, only one is Awakened and..."_

**_"And?"_ **

_"The Awakened Mage also knows of the Fusion Dance technique."_

The 'Woman' smiled for the first time during the debriefing.

_**"Are they strong?"** _

_"Yes Mistress, and they will all only grow stronger from here, due to their young ages."_

_**"Continue your surveillance from afar. Understood, Mesrum?"** _

The Shadow Figure raised its head to look at its Creator and raised its fist unto its chest. _"As you will."_

Behind her, the 'tar pools' all released an ominous bubble simultaneously.

* * *

**Fusion Profile**

**Name: Archester**

**Title: The Destructive Paladin**

**Aura: It constantly fluctuates between Jaune's and Cardin's**

**Magic: Gold with White effects**

**Sex: Male**

**Alignment: Chaotic Neutral**

**Likes: Himself, His family and friends, X-ray & Vav Comics**

**Dislikes: Enemies of his Family, Being dressed as a girl.**

**Bio: Archester was born from the fusion of Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester. He rarely comes into existence due to his creators' dislike of each other.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,000 words, my fingers!


	7. First Day at Beacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of school, in which Jaune puts aside his rivalry to be a bro

It was morning as the newly christened Team JNPR slept on after their exhausting Initiation, not to even mention the unpacking, room and bathroom arrangements and proper introductions the previous night.

* * *

**Flashback Scene**

_"Jaune, I know that this might be a bit intrusive, but would you please explain to me who Virgo was? And how 'Archester' came to be?"_

_It was after the arrangements, during which introductions had been passed around. To Pyrrha's pleasure, neither Ren nor Nora cared about her celebrity status. She had then called on Jaune's earlier promise to explain later._

_"Okay... This is gonna take a while to explain though." Jaune took a deep breath as he pondered where to start. "First off, what I'm about to say, regardless of how unbelievable, is both personal and the truth. Understand?"_

_After receiving nods of assurance, he continued. "Virgo is a magical being from a separate universe, the Celestial Spirit World. As a Mage, I'm able to summon Celestial Spirits through the use of their Celestial Gate Key."_

_"How are you able to use them though?" Ren interrupted. "Does Aura pass as a substitute for Magic?"_

_"No. Virgo told me that even though Aura's a lesser form of Magic, It can't substitute for Contracts. I'm able to use Magic because Virgo, after checking my blood, told me that I'm descended from a Mage."_

_"How did you get that Key in the first place?" Pyrrha asked in slight awe. "Was it passed down like your weapons?"_

_"My friends and I got these Keys by accident, inside a hidden cave or dungeon or whatever. I got the Key of the Maiden; Virgo, while my friends, Alice Snowlander and Sun Wukong, got the Key of the Water Bearer; Aquarius and the Key of the Lion; Leo respectively."_

_"Woah! How many Keys are they?" Nora scooted closer, as if Jaune was telling an interesting Nighttime Tale._

_At this point, he pulled off Virgo's Key from his neck and showed it off. "There are Twelve Gold Keys like this, representing the Zodiac Constellations and an unknown number of Silver Keys for all named Constellations amongst the stars."_

_"That so awesome, Fearless Leader." Nora interrupted._

_"Eh?"_

_"While the Silver Keys seem more common, The Golden ones must be super rare. The fact that you've got one is amazing."_

_"I have two Golden Keys, actually." Jaune said. "Three Units in total."_

_"Eh?" All three stared in shock._

_"While I'm currently in possession of Virgo's Key, my (Jaune gulped a bit) friend... passed away and gave me Aquarius' Key at the time. My third Key is a Silver Key. The Lyre, Lyra."_

_Jaune took another deep breath. "Anything else?"_

_"Yes. Archester." Pyrrha reminded._

_"Right. What Cardin and I did to produce Archester is called a Fusion Dance. It's a spell I learned back in the cave I found Virgo. It causes two separate people to unite into a single being through the use of... a really embarrassing dance!"_

_"What's so special that Virgo suggested it despite your clear reluctance?" Ren snapped Jaune out of his embarrassment._

_"If a Fusion is successfully created, the resultant person would have all the combined stats of the two composed of them, added onto another, then multiplied by two."_

_"No wonder Archester seemed so OP." Nora said as she remembered the_ _**Exploding Flare Cannon** _ _._

_"Speaking of which. That name..." Pyrrha looked at Jaune curiously._

_"When you create a Fusion, you've essentially created a new being with a combined but separate personality from the two who created them. Therefore, they are named accordingly."_

_"I see. Since Archester was born of you and Cardin, he was named with parts of both your names." Ren surmised._

_"Exactly." Jaune snapped his fingers and turned to his bed. "There's probably a lot more questions you want to ask but I'm tired. Lets continue another time."_

_"Alright."_

_"Pooh."_

_"Goodnight, Jaune."_

**Flashback End**

* * *

It was a peaceful morning. The birds were tweeting, The Sun was shining and Jaune and his friends, no his _team_ were peacefully sleepin-

***PWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE***

Ren took his pillow to bury his head.

Pyrrha reluctantly sat up.

Jaune fell off his bed.

Nora threw her pillow with pinpoint accuracy at the horrible sound's origin, but the door was (unfortunately) in the way.

After a brief bout of grumbling, a second whistle sounded through the door again.

"Knock it off!" Jaune and _Ren's_ pillows flew forward but once again, the door was (unfortunately) in the way again.

The boys willingly let the girls use the bathroom first with no complaint(Ren was used to Nora taking priority in this and Jaune was already housetrained by his sisters).

After a while in which they checked for their books and stationary, a cry came from the opposite room.

**"It's 8:55, you dunce!"**

'That's Weiss' voice.' Jaune opened the door to look outside, his teammates forming a Scooby Stack above him. 'It was probably Ruby or Yang who was responsible for that damn whistle.'

Outside the corridor, Weiss was running off as Ruby, Blake and Yang did a Scooby Stack from their door as well.

"To class!" Ruby declared after a short mental stumble. She ran, following Weiss, as Blake and Yang followed her.

"Class?" Jaune questioned, just before the rest of his team fell over on him. "We're gonna be late!" He yells as he ran after team RWBY, shortly followed by the rest of JNPR.

* * *

In the courtyard, the students were all running to class as Glynda and Ozpin watched from the side. Glynda checked her watch and Ozpin simply sipped his coffee.

Nora noticed them and waved. Ozpin waved back while Goodwitch pointed at her watch.

* * *

"Monsters! Demons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" Professor Port continued as the immensely lecture went on . Ruby was half asleep until woken up by the bad joke.

"And you shall too." Port continued while pacing in front of the class. "Upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." He winked at the girls which caused Yang to groan.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves!" Port said. "From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

He raised his fist in a triumphant gesture. One student copied this action while cheering, but then backed down when everyone else looked at him strangely.

"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man..." Port began his tale. "Me! When I was a boy..." Jaune tuned him out from that moment. The only thing interesting in the Lecture so far was the suspicious cage next to the teacher's stage. The growling and constant shaking making it obvious it wasn't empty in the slightest.

Jaune looked to his side to see his partner trying (and failing) to show interest.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man." Port could be heard for a moment "Peter, he told me..."

Ren was outright sleeping while Nora doodled on a piece of paper.

Ruby chuckled at her own doodle and showed it to her friends: a ball-with-limbs-and-a-head drawing of the teacher with stink lines coming from him and "Professor Poop" written underneath. Ruby blew a quick raspberry. Nora, Blake and Yang snickered, but Weiss looked annoyed.

"Ah-heh-hem!" Port gained everyone's attention once more. "In the end, the Beowulf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

The teacher took a bow as Weiss slowly got more and more frustrated with Ruby's antics.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Port concluded.

Ruby was balancing an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making a silly face.

"Dependable!" Ruby was yawning.

"Strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Port finished. Ruby was not-so-subtly picking her nose, causing Weiss to start shaking in anger.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port asked the students.

Weiss still looked as her hand shot up "I do, sir!"

"Well, then, let's find out!" Port turned to gesture at the glowing red eyes surrounded by shadow shaking the cage that trapped it. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"

The unknown Grimm continued to growl.

* * *

After a brief change, Weiss stood in her combat attire, readying her Myrtenaster at the growling creature in the cage. Her teammates cheered for her.

"Go Weiss!" Yang yelled.

"Fight well." Blake waved a flag with RWBY written on it.

"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby cheered.

Weiss lowered her sword and looked over to Ruby. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

"Oh, um... Sorry..." Ruby sheepishly replied.

"Alright!" Professor Port announced, "Let the match begin."

He pulled out his axe and used it to destroy the lock on the cage.

The cage opened revealing a Boarbatusk that charged straight at Weiss. She used Myrtenaster to deflect its attack and roll to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stood a distance away from its enemy, studying her.

"Ha ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port commented. "Unless you have a plan for it, never fight a Grimm to long. It will adapt and evolve as the fight goes on."

"Hang in there Weiss." Ruby yelled to her partner.

Weiss sped towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, sticking her blade straight at its skull until they met, and the boar knocked its tusks to the side causing Myrtenaster to be trapped in them. Weiss was still hanging on to the hilt, and was tossed around as she struggled to get the rapier back.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" Port continued his commentary in the background.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered again.

Weiss turned to glare at Ruby, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the sword from her grip. Myrtenaster landed far away from its master, who was knocked back by the creature's tusks.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asks.

Weiss looked up just in time to see the Boarbatusk charge again, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled and making it crash into a desk. Weiss rushed at her sword and slid a bit to get it back in her hand.

"Weiss! Go for its belly!" Ruby advised from the side-lines. "There's no armor underneath…"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss interrupted, causing Ruby to frown dejectedly.

Meanwhile, the Boarbatusk jumped into the air and rolled into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air and landing on the ground, consistently gaining speed until it launched itself at Weiss.

It came closer and closer, but Weiss activated one of her glyphs and blocked the roll, leaping up into the now-black snowflake symbol and turning it blue again so she can drive the blade into the Boarbatusk's stomach. It squealed and fell silent while Weiss gasped in relief.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Port said once the beast finished dissipating into black smoke, which was absorbed into the ground. Weiss stood up at attention from her exhausted position and Ruby continued to glance down to her lap, looking hurt.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today." Port continued "Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss glared and turned away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune commented as Weiss left.

The remaining members of Team RWBY looked at each other with the same question in their eyes.

* * *

Jaune wandered the hallways with Pyrrha, trying to find the requisition office for Pyrrha to get a new set of blouses. She had earlier told Jaune that her blouses were too tight on her chest, causing Jaune to constantly sneak obvious glances at her breasts, much to her embarrassment.

They were lucky enough to run into Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark who directed them to it. After getting the blouses for Pyrrha, who got her sizes to be updated, They were heading back to their dorms when Jaune noticed a peculiar sight.

Cardin was trailing after an attractive brown haired Rabbit faunus, his eyes focused on her-

"Pfft. Pyrrha, please help her up." Jaune snickered ("No, I'm not laughing at her, I swear!") as the bunny girl suddenly tripped, sending her books flying.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha crouched to help her gather them up.

"Yes. Thanks for the help." The bunny girl accepted the books she didn't pack already. "I'm Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

"Oh." Velvet's eyes widened in recognition. "Welcome to Beacon, Miss Nikos." She and Pyrrha continued the walk together, making small talk.

Meanwhile, Jaune was having his own talk with Cardin. "You okay, Cardin? That pervy stare of yours _really_ burned a hole through her."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Faker." Cardin clenched his jaw.

"Ehhh... Don't to lie to me, Mongrel." He went on his tiptoes to whisper right in Cardin's ear. "You mean to tell me you weren't _totally_ checking that bunny's hot as-"

Jaune ducked away as a sudden swipe nearly hit his head. The danger was nullified by the blush on Cardin's face.

"It's fine, Cardin. I don't blame you." Jaune raised his hands in surrender. "It's ok to be attracted to her. I mean, _look_ at her. Soft, lustrous chocolate hair, a shy expression, expressive bunny ears and that. Amazing. Ass." Jaune who had been coming closer with each sentence, whispered the last part into Cardin's ear again. "She's practically a _walking fetish._ "

Jaune separated from Cardin and caught up with his partner and the bunny girl. "Hey there. I'm Jaune Arc and that's Cardin Winchester, who's really sorry about upsetting you before. We, with Pyrrha, are all First Years."

"U-Um. Hello." Velvet replied. "I'm Velvet Scarlatina. Second Year."

'She's our senior?!' All three First Years were in shock as they gawked at the shortest girl amongst them.

"W-Well. Pyrrha." Jaune grabbed his partner's arm and dragged her off, wanting to escape the awkward. "Lets go check on Ruby and Weiss."

"It was nice meeting you." Pyrrha called out as she disappeared around the corner.

There was a bit of silence in which Cardin and Velvet stood alone in a hallway of students.

"Err, look." Cardin turned to face her fully. "I'm sorry about staring. Your ass was really distra- No! I, uh, I'm really sorry for staring at you like that."

"I-It's fine." Velvet's whole face was quite a shade of red to match her surname. "I never really got that kind of attention before so it's a bit gratifying."

"Oh. Ok then." Cardin scratched his cheek nervously. "In that case, do you... have any free time... to go out with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Cardin isn't a racist anymore, he can admire the rival of the great Bellabooty, the Velveteen Derriere.


	8. Acquaintances and Dilemmas I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake vs Ren. and more of the Bro Code.

The battle currently underway had different reactions from the teams connected to them. Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss silently observed and took notes while Ruby, Nora and Yang wildly cheered for their respective teammates.

**Blake Belladonna vs Lie Ren**

Blake skidded back from Ren's heavy kick, which caused her to lose Gambol Shroud's cleaver-sheath as it fell beyond the ring, and retaliated quickly with Gambol Shroud's pistol, putting some breathing distance between them.

After a brief second, the 'ninjas' of Teams JNPR and RWBY clashed again, grinding Storm Flower and Gambol Shroud against each other. They separated then clashed again and again until Ren grabbed an opportunity to palm thrust Blake's midsection. This was a mistake as Blake swiftly left a Fire Dust clone, which not only granted her escape but nearly burnt Ren's hand.

Then both combatants switched their weapons to gun mode and fired at each other. For some seconds, Ren and Blake did nothing but shoot and dodge each other constantly and vigilantly.

Ren dashed forward, going for a heavy double kick, which Blake parried and dodged away Ren took advantage of his midair stop to nearly kick her head off. The two clashed weapons until in a feat of dexterity, Blake disarmed Ren of his weapons, which ironically landed near Gambol Shroud's cleaver-sheath and then held him at gunpoint.

"Do you surrender?" Blake held her arm steady, trying to ignore the stinging from Ren's earlier kicks.

"No" Ren dropped to his knees while simultaneously thrusting his arms backwards, which released a burst of aura to propel him.

This got him into Blake's personal space and let out a flurry of palm thrusts and elbow hits on her. Blake barely managed to switch out with her clone but was still hit by a few. Blake steadied her breathing and then switched Gambol Shroud to katana mode.

Ren rushed forward, believing her to be out of bullets. This was a mistake, as Blake swung her weapon at Ren's approaching form, releasing a translucent purple slash which cut into Ren and sent him flying backwards.

"That's enough, Ms. Belladonna!" Goodwitch declared, letting Blake to lower her arm and and stumble out of the way as the teacher entered the stage, tapping her tablet.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Ren's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Lie Ren is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." As she talked, two holograms appeared behind Goodwitch, showing Blake's Aura in the yellow while Ren's Aura had entered the red.

While Ren still laid on the floor in defeat and exhaustion and Nora reluctantly passed Yang some lien, Goodwitch turned her head to look at the defeated ninja as he pulled his scroll, looking at his low, blinking stats and that of his entire team. "Mr. Ren, it's been weeks now. Please try to bolster your defense. While you do have a solid offense and very little recklessness compared to _some people_ ,"

Goodwitch turned her head to gesture at Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie's direction, before facing Ren again. "Your only faults seem to be your low defense and stamina."

Ren sighed in response. "We wouldn't want you to collapse and get gobbled up by a Beowulf, now, would we?"

"Good fight." Blake chimed in.

"Thanks." Ren stood up, stretching his back as he made his way to his seat.

After a while, the Bell rang to signal the class' end.

* * *

"Blake, can I talk to to you for a second?" Jaune asked Blake as she took her seat next to him. "That purple attack you just did in Goodwitch's class. What was that? Was it some sort of Dust usage?"

"No. That was Aura manipulation."

"Eh?"

"Aura manipulation is as it describes." Ren took over for Blake, either ignorant or uncaring to Nora stealing his lunch. "It's a skill which allows one to manipulate their Aura for specific functions such as the basic reinforcement techniques and so forth."

"But what Blake did couldn't have been a reinforcement technique."

"It wasn't." Blake replied. "It was a projection. I infused my Aura into my blade and released outwards as I swung it. I... learnt it from a former friend of mine."

"Thanks Blake, I'll give a try. It's too cool not to." Jaune gushed, remembering an old comic where the main character could do the same thing with his sentient sword.

"Good for you- Nora! My food!" Ren yelled at Nora who just downed the last of Ren's meal. "It's your loss for ignoring it, Renny!" Nora crowed as she dodged his grabs.

"I have been wondering for a while now but, why does Nora refer to you by your surname?" Pyrrha asked as Ren squeezed Nora's face to stop her from chewing.

"I asked him that earlier." Jaune moved to Pyrrha's side, unaware of her blush at his close proximity. "In his home language 'Lie' means Ardent. Unfortunately in English, 'Lie' just means... you know."

Jaune shuddered as he watched Nora triumphed the impromptu match between her and Ren "He must have been such a bully magnet as a kid. The only times I hear his first name are when teachers call him. And even then, that's not much."

* * *

Jaune walked through the hallways after submitting his homework to Professor Port. He had just submitted his essay on Nevermores and might have been trapped in listening to one of his boring stories, had he not lied that Professor Ozpin had an errand for him.

He had just left the hallway adjacent to Port's classroom when he literally ran into Cardin. Cardin was only pushed back a bit while Jaune fell on his ass. Jaune quickly apologized and stood to walk away when Cardin suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast." Cardin pulled Jaune into a nearby closet. "I need your help with something, Jaune."

Jaune widened his eyes. Cardin calling him by name was a serious matter.

"What is it?" Jaune warily checked his surroundings. He would have to be prepared for anything Cardin would throw at him.

"You remember that chick from before? Velvet Scarlatina?" Jaune nodded.

"I asked her out, _for reals_." Jaune lost control on his jaw.

"N-No way." Jaune shakily replied. "I-I was joking you know. I deliberately acted in such a narmy way to tease you. Look, I'm so sorry you got rejected but-"

"She said yes." Cardin cut in.

"WHAT?!" Jaune was in shock. "I... wasn't expecting that. What's the problem?"

"I've... never been on a date in my life." Cardin looked like he wanted a Goliath to swallow him whole for admitting that out loud.

"O-Okay... Where does that bring me in?"

"Other than the fact you the only one I know from childhood in the school and the fact that _you_ tricked me into it," Cardin pointed out. "You've got experience with girlfriends. Like your wife, Alice Snowlander-"

"She's not my wife!"

"Or Nessa-"

"Nessa dumped me, remember?" Jaune recalled the only girlfriend he had before Beacon, who had dumped him after finding out his love for comics. Apparently, Comic fans or nerds were a deal breaker for her.

"Anyway, I'm going to the city with her this weekend. Ask the girls in your team for tips on what to do."

"I'll ask Yang instead. Nora's too different from Velvet and Pyrrha's probably never gone on a date in her life, due to her fame." That really sucked for the poor Champion. "Ruby tells me that Yang on the other hand, used to constantly go for parties, before Beacon. She'll at least have some experience."

After a little more discussion, the two knights left the closet and parted ways. Jaune took out his Scroll to call Ruby.

"Ruby, I know this might sound weird but can you please send me your sister's number? I need some advice."

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Blake Belladonna**

**Age: 17**

**Title: The Shadow Beauty**

**Aura: Purple**

**Color Motif: Black, White**

**Sex: Female**

**Alignment: Chaotic Good (She is a former _terrorist,_ after all)**

**Likes: Her family, Yang and Ruby, The former White Fang**

**Dislikes: Weiss Schnee, racists, The current White Fang**

**Bio: Blake was practically "born" into the White Fang due to her father's connections to it. However, soon after the change in leadership, she left as she could no longer accept the increasing death toll the current White Fang was responsible for.**

**She enrolled into Beacon in order to gain strength, knowledge and experience in order to reform the White Fang and eradicate anti-faunus racism.**

**Due to her experiences, she still slightly racist against humans, but is still cordial to Ruby (for her naivety), Yang (for her sheer** **stubbornness** **in holding** **conversations** **with her), team JNPR (mostly Jaune and Pyrrha for helping Velvet Scarlatina, which she witnessed) and the teachers.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit short I know, but there's more in part II.


	9. Acquaintances and Dilemmas II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Bro-titude.

'Once again, I am riding in this death trap...' Jaune thought as he clutched his stomach while Pyrrha gently stroked his back and Yang laughed in amusement. "Why the hell am I doing this for Cardin again?"

The Bullhead they were riding to the city lurched again, causing him to sprawl over Pyrrha's laps. Jaune was immensely grateful when Pyrrha made no move to remove and simply continued to stroke his back and, strangely enough, his hair.

"Maybe because he's your rival?" Jaune faced Yang in confusion. "What I mean is, Cardin is not someone you normally care about right?"

"We insult each other daily, yes. Go on."

"From what my Dad told me, when two people form a rivalry, they are likely to like and hate each other in unusual ways. For example, You'd wish misfortune on Cardin, but if you had a chance to stop a _genuine_ misfortune, would you hesitate?"

"No." Jaune sat up, unaware of the brief flash of disappointment on Pyrrha's face, which Yang _definitely_ didn't miss. "I don't like Cardin, but it's not like I'd wish him trouble or anything really."

"And there it is. "Yang said. "It's not that you want Cardin to suffer to misfortune. What you really want is Cardin to suffer to misfortune you _approve_ of. Cardin suffering to something other than that would just come off unacceptable to you."

"Y-You right!" Jaune stood up rapidly, his eureka moment temporarily blocking out his motion sickness. "I'm just helping that mongrel only because it's my fault he's in the mess. Besides, according to the Bro Code, after he honestly asked for my help to make his date a success, I'm obligated as a fellow Bro to help him out."

"Bro Code?" Both girls asked simultaneously.

"Don't worry." Jaune reassured. "It's like a guys only version of the 'Do Me a Solid' system."

"Oh." Yang nodded in acceptance while Pyrrha, who had little teenage social life, was still blatantly lost with an adorable "I have no idea of what my friends are talking about right now" look on her face.

* * *

"Alright kids." The pilot's voice echoed from the front. "We're here. I've got a lot more trips to do so get moving."

"Thanks for the ride, Slagathor!" Yang called out.

"My name's Jeff!"

"That's what I said."

The trio got off and entered deep into the city, Pyrrha constantly fidgeting with her disguise in an awkward manner.

"Are you guys sure this works?" Pyrrha's disguise consisted of her in black t-shirt too short to cover her midriff, long sleeved brown jacket, tight jean shorts which showed off her marvelous legs, with her usually ponytailed red hair loose and down and finally, a pair of (fake) glasses.

"Yes, Pyrrha. People usually expect you to be in your armor, all dressed up. Constantly." Jaune was also in civilian wear. He had simply removed his armor and gotten a white jacket over his Pumpkin Pete hoodie.

"Don't worry, P-Money. You're rocking that look. Seriously, People who look at you, won't be thinking of The Invincible Girl immediately." Yang's civilian wear was a cream jacket worn over a low cut shirt, which exposed a good amount of cleavage and a miniskirt. Unlike Jaune and Pyrrha, She still carried her weapons with her, although in bracelet mode.

"Okay, this is where we split off." Yang twirled around and grabbed Pyrrha's arm. "Later, Vomit Boy."

"One of these days, I'm gonna get Ruby for telling you that." Jaune looked to Pyrrha. "Where are you two going?"

Before Pyrrha could answer, Yang reached around her body to directly grope Pyrrha's breasts. "P-Money here needs to get some new bras after her last ones... _broke._ "

"B-B-Broke?" Jaune's mind went wild with countless scenarios where Pyrrha's bra could have snapped. "First it was your uniforms, now it's your bra?"

"Wanna come along?" Jaune and Pyrrha stared at Yang in shock. "I'm getting new ones as well and we're going to need a boy's opinion, right?" Yang leaned to whisper right in Pyrrha's ear. "Don't you wanna know the color he likes to see when one day, _he finally rips that top off you and_ -"

Pyrrha face gained a shade of red which actually surpassed the redness of her hair and ran off with Yang in tow, leaving Jaune standing alone with his fantasies.

Jaune snapped out of it, cursed his misfortune, then shrugged and moved on.

* * *

Jaune stood made it to the port and knelt near the seawater, fishing out a Golden Key.

**"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"**

The sea burst out a vortex of water, and a mermaid with long, light blue hair emerged, holding a jug between her hands.

"I don't see enemies in sight, brat." Aquarius adjusted her jug to her side, looking very irritated. "I was just about to prepare for my date!"

"Funny you mentioned that." Jaune said in an appeasing manner. "I've got a friend who going on his first date this afternoon. And I need the advice of someone as obviously experienced as you."

"Oh. About time." Aquarius teased, her irritated mood disappearing. "I was wondering when you would move on from Alice."

"First off, it's not me, it's Car- someone else." Jaune replied hotly. "Secondly, Alice and I never went out in the first place!."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you."

Jaune growled a bit. "Please, just help me out here."

"Fine, boy. Let me teach how a Lady is to be treated on her first date."

Jaune prepared himself to carefully take in the advice and sift through what would actually be useful by modern standards.

* * *

The time for the date soon arrived and Jaune gave Cardin some final pointers on what to do via comms. Cardin had arrived in civilian wear and Jaune was nearby, with a PSP up in his face. The unhidden comms just helping the 'Gamer Guy' vibe he was going for.

Cardin tugged nervously at the scarf he'd hidden his own comms in.

_"Now remember, whenever I'm speaking to you, I'm starting my sentences with 'Overwatch says', alright?"_

"Yes, I heard you. Was it really necessary for me to come thirty minutes earlier?"

_"Absolutely. Oh, here she comes- Oh my..."_

'Oh my indeed.' Cardin nervously swallowed as Velvet came into view. She was dressed in a pink sweater, a white denim jacket, a flowing skirt which had her emblem sewn into it like polka dots, and to top it off, a camera hanging from her neck.

"G-Good afternoon, Cardin." Velvet nervously brushed aside a stray hair, trying to hold back her blush. "Guess we both came a bit earlier than we agreed."

'Did Jaune see this coming?!' Cardin swallowed a bit. "You look... gorgeous." He mentally patted himself on the back when Velvet blushed even harder.

"Well then, shall we?" Cardin said as he held out his arm, which Velvet took.

* * *

The date actually went pretty well, leaving Jaune to leave the newborn couple in satisfaction, especially since he could now go back to hating Cardin in peace.

Unfortunately, his happy mood on the way to the death trap(Bullhead) was soured when an incident caught his sight, causing him to change tracks immediately.

* * *

Daisy August never felt as annoyed as she did right now, nearly tripping as the thug had the audacity to _kick_ her further into the alleyway. She had just been on a break from her café when she had suddenly been grabbed into an alleyway.

She turned to appraise the current situation. The thug's intentions were quite obvious from the way he looked all over her body. The two others with him were guarding the entrance into the alleyway, intimidating any civilian who so much as glanced in their direction.

She was just about to electrocute the soon-to-be-dead guy when a blonde teenager suddenly blindsided one of the punks guarding the alleyway entrance, slamming his head into- no, _through_ the brick wall.

"Wha-" The second guard didn't even have time to finish his sentence as Blondie actually punched him _off his feet_ and into a nearby dumpster.

"Y-Y-You're that shit from before with the ice cream bitch!" The Thug yelled out in anger, ignoring Daisy for the more obvious threat.

Blonde stared at the last thug in confusion, then recognition. "Thug #01, is that you?! You're harassing girls again?"

' _Again,_ huh?' Daisy stared at Thug #01 with renewed disgust. 'Judging his reaction, Blondie must have saved his last victim."

"It's Big Bear Ted, you motherfucker! And now, I'm gonna-" His sentence turned into a choke as Daisy landed a heavy dropkick, sending flying right at Blondie, who took the opportunity to sock him in the face, landing heavy damage to his face and knocking him out.

"I guess you might not have needed my help at all." Blondie said, looking at her inquiringly. "Are you alright, miss?"

"Daisy. Daisy August." Daisy gave a sensual smile at her rescuer, which made him blush. 'What a cutie.' "And you are..."

"J-Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

"Do they?" Daisy cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

"W-Well, you _are_ a lady. Do you?"

Daisy stared a bit before she burst out laughing. "Well, that's something new in my flirting experience."

"Um, I really wasn't aiming to be flirting, but I'm flattered you think that way." Jaune sheepishly scratched his head.

Daisy stopped laughing and stared at him for a bit, before slapping her hand onto her face. "Oh Oum, You're one of those clueless types, aren't you?"

The adorkable head tilt he sent her confirmed it.

'Oh well.' Daisy picked up the purchases that had fallen down earlier. 'Lets make the best of a spoilt evening.'

Jaune blushed crimson when she suddenly pressed her self to him. "Dear Sir, would you mind escorting this lady to her home?"

"Um, okay." Jaune tried his best to ignore the breasts Daisy was deliberately pressing into his arm. "Where do you live?"

Daisy was about to reply when a groan from behind them reminded her of something important. "Excuse me a bit."

She walked towards Thug #01, who was starting to wake up and had turned onto his stomach, and got around so that she was facing his back. With a slightly sadistic smile, Daisy raised her leg high behind her and then, with a flash of _green fire_ from her eyes, she punted Thug #01 right in the balls with an lightning imbued kick.

Daisy walked back to Jaune while he stared at the whimpering eunuch. "Let's go, Jaune."

"O-Okay..." Jaune was silent for a bit, before speaking again. "Was, uh, was _that_ necessary?"

_**"Absolutely."** _

"Oh. O-Ok then."

* * *

**Omake**

Velvet entered her team room, still basking from her date. Her first date as a teenager was a resounding success! With _her_ being the one to ask Cardin for the second one! And he agreed! She may be a second year Beacon Student, but now she could proudly own this memory as a teenage girl! The fact that there had only been one count of racism against her and her date had scared him off just by glaring at him was a huge bonus!

"Someone looks happy. Good." Velvet flinched and turned around to see her best friend/team leader/partner. "I guess Mr. Winchester doesn't need a visit."

"What do you mean 'visit'?!" Velvet replied in shock. "And why is Gianduja out?!"

"Oh this?" Coco Adel patted the Gatling Gun next to her, putting the image of an old cartoon villain stroking his pet cat in Velvet's mind. "It was just _insurance._ In fact, I think I'll go pay a visit _right now_."

"You wouldn't dare."

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Because," Velvet slid into a combat ready pose. _"You seem to be under the delusion that I would let you."_

Coco copied her and a brief second, the two females clashed in an almighty bout of slaps, scratches and hairpulling.

* * *

Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi had just arrived at their room after training, just in time to catch their leader and her partner having a catfight in their room.

"Why can't you be happy I have a boyfriend who's treating me okay?!"

"You said the first thing he noticed about you was your ass! And he stalked you, following you until his friend caught him!"

_"How can you of all people say that when you did the same thing when we first met?!"_

Yatsuhashi turned to face his partner, who despite his blindness, had the same matching deadpan expression on his face. Then, without a single word uttered, the boys closed the door and left, leaving the girls unaware of their brief audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the Jeff/Slagathor Pilot from "Lead" Fanfiction by Imyoshi.


	10. Acquaintances and Dilemmas III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transcript arc is here!

"Well. This is my stop." After 'rescuing' Daisy from the thugs, Jaune had escorted her to her shop in town. "Welcome to the Pride Lair. Take a seat."

Jaune took a seat inside the coffee café, admiring the design when Daisy came out again, after a while. She had freshened up and had two cups of coffee in a tray with her.

"Have a drink with me. On the house."

"Thank you, Miss." As Jaune drank the surprisingly good coffee, he took the chance to admire the lady in front of him.

Daisy August was a Lion faunus with leaf green eyes and long wild blonde hair which ended in green tips. She had on a barista uniform which hugged her voluptuous form quite nicely. Jaune had just moved his gaze from her pantyhose clad legs to see her smirking at him, letting Jaune know that she was quite aware of him checking her out.

"No need to worry." Daisy's smirk grew even larger at Jaune's sheepish expression, looking more like a Cheshire than a lioness. "How old are you, Jaune?"

"Um, I'm 17."

"Ah. Too bad." Daisy said to Jaune. "A year older and I would have given a nice 'reward' upstairs."

Jaune choked on his coffee as unbidden images came to mind. Daisy burst out laughing as Jaune wiped his chin clean.

"As it is, all I can _legally_ do at the moment," Daisy got up to move around the table, then plopped herself on Jaune's laps. "is invite you and whoever you wish to my café for half off coffee for the rest of the year. And if I'm still single by next year..." She bent down to playfully bite Jaune's earlobe, causing him to shiver in arousal.

"Give me a call." She stood up to take her cup back to the kitchen, her hips moving with more sway than normal. Jaune idly stared at her ass until it disappeared, then looked to see what she had put in his jacket pocket.

_Daisy August XXX-XXXX Call me, Jauney!_

He saved the number immediately.

* * *

It was a beautiful sunny day as Professor Goodwitch led the First Year class through a forest bustling with red leaves and grey trunks.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful." Goodwitch said to the class. "But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

Jaune nodded as he remembered their Professor of Plant Science, Thumbelina Peach, one of the teachers who didn't teach a subject related to Hunters or Grimm.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." Goodwitch continued as she hold up a full jar of their objective as an example. "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

Everyone stared at the professor with her last words ringing in their minds.

_'D-Did someone dare her to say that part?'_ For a brief moment, all twelve teenagers thought as one.

* * *

It had been quite a workout, dealing with the sap collection. Jaune was sitting on the ground, cross-eyed and dizzy. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff..."

"Judging by your confusion, this is your first time exposed to it, I believe?" Ren kneeled down to collect some sap from a tree, then passed the full jar to Nora. But by the time he filled another one and turned to Nora, the girl had red sap over her mouth and an empty jar in her hands.

After they were done, the teams reunited with each other and Professor Goodwitch, who just finished a call from her Scroll.

"Mr. Arc." Goodwitch called. The aforementioned student looked at her in response. "See me after the class. You will follow me to the Beacon Tower. The Headmaster would like a word with you."

Jaune gulped in dread.

"The Headmaster wants to see you?!" Ruby said in shock. "What did you _do_?"

"What _did_ you do, Fearless Leader?" Nora exclaimed, looking _excited_ instead of worried for him.

"I-I don't know..."

* * *

As Jaune ascended up the elevator to Headmaster Ozpin's office, his mind was haywire with possible scenarios.

'Was it those thugs? I mean, I know that as students of Beacon, our actions reflect on it's reputation... But I'm sure if I was falsely testified against, I could call Daisy to help... No, that's a last resort, calling her in for my convenience...'

'No.' Jaune clenched his hands, trying in vain to ignore how sweaty his palms felt. 'I'll just have to deal with whatever happens.'

The door to the Headmaster's office opened too soon in Jaune's opinion.

"Welcome, Mr. Arc." Ozpin spoke from his glass wall. "Please take seat."

Jaune sat down, nervously keeping an eye on Goodwitch; who stood behind Ozpin's desk, and Ozpin; who finished whatever he was drinking from his coffee mug and sat down as well.

"Mr. Arc, do you know why you are here?" Ozpin said while tapping away on his computer.

"N-No, Sir." Jaune really tried to keep his thoughts and words coherent. "Is this perhaps about the thugs I attacked last week?"

"Oh no. I actually commend you on that. Luckily for you, that incident happened in public view and Ms. August was more than willing to speak up in your defense."

'Phew. Wait...' "In that case, Sir, why am I here?"

"Because of this." Ozpin halted his typing and turned the monitor to face the knight, causing him to turn unnaturally pale. "Mr. Arc, We would like to talk to you about these _forged transcripts_ of yours."

Jaune just stared silently at his transcripts on screen, before dropping his head into his hands with a muttered "Oh crap."

"I wouldn't exactly say your situation is that dire, ." Jaune peeked at Ozpin through his fingers. "But it is quite unusual."

"You see, I only found out about your transcripts by accident when I looked through your info for personal reasons. One would think that someone with forged transcripts would be an inadequate student, constantly getting by with barely passable grades and so forth. However, not only are you one of the hardworking students, with enough skill and character to pass for a suitable Huntsman, we called the number of the Huntress who recommended you."

"Bianca Arc is one of our Alumni." Ozpin continued as Jaune slowly raised his head to face him. "It was a simple issue to just contact her to ensure that we weren't dealing with a case of identity theft. Imagine my surprise when Ms. Arc not only confirmed her recommendation, but sent pictures and videos of her actually training you."

"And after all this, I'm confused." Ozpin leaned forward, performing the 'Gendo Ikari Pose'. "If the student was sufficiently trained and the Huntress was genuine in her recommendation, _why were the forged transcripts needed in the first place?"_

Jaune gulped. "T-There was an incident."

"Your next words will determine your continued education in Beacon, Mr. Arc." Goodwitch spoke for the first time in the conversation. "Speak truthfully and concisely."

* * *

**Flashback Scene**

_Jaune was currently on a train to Vale, clutching his stomach as he felt his motion sickness in action against his medicine._

_'I shouldn't have taken a seat right next to a window.'_

_"Pardon me, Sir. Is this seat opposite you occupied?"_

_Jaune looked away from the window to face the speaker._

_It was a boy, richly dressed with pale skin, pale blue eyes and snow white hair._

_"Go ahead. No one's there." 'since it looks I might upchuck in that direction.'_

_The Snowette took the seat and brought out a tablet and started to tap away on it. Jaune, in need of a distraction till he reached his destination, proceeded to strike up a conversation._

_"Hi, my name's Jaune, Jaune Arc. I just wanted to say that hair of your's looks well done for a dye-job."_

_"Whitley Schnee." The Snowette sneered. "And it's not a dye-job. My hair all natural white. It is the same for my family as well."_

* * *

"Ah. Thinking back. He might have been related to Weiss."

"Mr. Arc, your testimony?"

"R-Right."

* * *

_"All natural? For your whole family? That's amazing."_

_"That was a rather tame response..." Whitley stared at Jaune, confused for a reason Jaune was unable to decipher. "Why are you talking to me so casually?" He said with a suspicious glare at Jaune._

_"Ah. Sorry." Jaune waved his arms frantically. "The truth is that I'm motion sick and I wanted to a conversation which would distract me..."_

_Whitley stared silently for a bit. Then, he relaxed into his seat and put away his Tablet. "Well in that case, I'll humor you. Your attire and that sword" He gestured to Crocea Mors, which Jaune had kept under his legs. "tells me that you're an aspiring Huntsman headed for Beacon."_

_"Correct. And from what I see about you, You're... about to go for an exam into a school in Vale, aren't you?"_

_Whitley burst into a strange laugh which made Jaune almost believe that the boy in front of him might not have genuinely laughed at anything in years. "That was so logical yet so incorrect. I am not really applying to any school here. I am rather attending to private business. Far from Father's eyes."_

_"Ah. You're a businessman's kid, aren't you? Trying some-"_

_That was as far as he got before his Observation Haki went off and he reacted on instinct._

_"GET DOWN!" He dived and tackled Whitley, shielding him with his body as the carriage wall next to them exploded._

_A figure dressed in black and white stepped through the smoke and into the moving carriage, his features covered by the Grimm mask he sported. The terrorist's very appearance caused the passengers to whip themselves into a frenzied panic._

_"White Fang..." Jaune heard Whitley whisper from underneath him._

_"Stay down." Jaune whispered back and stood forth to gain the terrorist's attention. "What's your business here, terrorist?" He had deliberately kept his hands free to try out a peaceful method, considering the White Fang member had a rifle on him right now._

_"I have intel that that Whitley Schnee is currently boarding this train carriage. Give him up and-"_

_The terrorist choked as Jaune's thrown weapon impacted his neck and forced him to clutch his throat, causing him to look away from his attacker. A fatal mistake as it prevented him from defending against Jaune's uppercut properly._

_Jaune idly shook his hand as the defeated terrorist flew back against the wall and slid down, blood tricking down his cracked mask from where Jaune had slugged him. He had been willing to peacefully negotiate if the terrorist had come for just a theft or vandalism, however letting the terrorist leave with a potential kidnappee was completely unacceptable. After a wary look, he picked up his sheathed sword and turned to face the targeted Schnee and slid down to face the shaking boy._

_"It's all right now, Whitley. You're now-"_

_Jaune's Observation Haki rang out a second time. He turned his face to just in time to catch the terrorist conscious with a crack in his mask showing a deranged expression from the viewable parts and pointing his rifle at Whitley._

_"Die! You vile Schnee!" The rifle fired, shooting bullets which would have punched Whitley full for bloody holes, had Jaune not shielded Whitley once more with his body._

_**"Armament: Hardening."** _

_It was a long twenty seconds as the terrorist proceeded to empty his rifle's entire clip onto Jaune's **Full Hardened** body. When the the rifle clicked empty, the entire carriage stared in awe at Jaune's entire black visage._

_The terrorist snarled in rage at his last-ditch plan being foiled. "You damn humans! I'll kill you-"_

_***KRAK!*** _

_Jaune gawked as the terrorist was suddenly bludgeoned by a blonde nun, holding a pipe in her hands. A pig tailed Cat faunus next to her, dressed in the same nun robes but missing her habit, kicked the terrorist forward so that he landed face first on the floor._

_"Thank you for saving us, Sir Huntsman." The blonde nun bowed in gratitude, which would have been a heartwarming sight was Jaune not very aware of the bloody stain on the pipe still in her hands._

_"N-No problem. I was doing my duty to protect the masses." He turned to face Whitley and helped him to up to his feet. "I don't know why he wanted you, but I wasn't going to let you get taken for any reason."_

_Whitley looked shaken but grateful. "Thank you, Jaune for- He's getting up!"_

_Jaune turned around to see the White Fang member get up to his knees. "You damn humans... You think this is enough to stop-"_

_The two nuns, Blonde Nun still holding her bloody steel pipe, proceeded to wreck the terrorist into submission until he stopped struggling._

_"Is he dead?" Jaune asked when the terrorist had become dangerously still. He was instantly proven wrong._

_"I WON'T BE DONE IN SO EASILY-"_

_This time, apart from Jaune and Whitley, all of the carriage passengers joined the nuns in beating the terrorist into ~~death~~ submission. By the time the crowd dispersed and the police (finally) arrived, the White Fang terrorist looked he might be at Death's Door, that is, if he hadn't already crossed over._

_The two nuns (after Blonde Nun discarded the ~~murder weapon~~ metal pipe) put their hands together in a symbol of prayer._

_**"Látom."** _

_After the train reached it's destination, Jaune and Whitley exchanged contacts, with Whitley warning Jaune not to call him anytime soon, as his family would be examining any suspicious leads on the attempt on his life._

* * *

"I still do not see how this connects to the forged transcripts, Mr. Arc." Ozpin spoke up after a while.

"Actually, it really does, Sir." Jaune frowned at the depressing memory. "The thing is Armament Haki is a skill I'm still trying to master. While I was capable for **Hardening** my whole body to save Whitley, my clothes on the other hand, in which I had kept my real transcripts, weren't so lucky."

"What of your Aura?" Goodwitch asked in suspicion.

"It's immensely difficult to project Haki and Aura in the same region of your body." Ozpin answered Goodwitch's question, unknowingly saving Jaune from that predicament. "As a Haki wielder myself, I know this myself from experience." He then faced Jaune again. "For a novice like Mr. Arc, that would be outright impossible."

Professor Goodwitch rubbed her temple in frustration, causing Jaune to mentally promise her a fruit basket later.

"So what now?"

Ozpin was silent for a bit. "Mr. Arc, I am capable of giving you a fresh set of transcripts if I wish to, since leaving these false ones would soon bring both of us unneeded trouble."

"However, before I do so, I'd like to ask you a question." Ozpin then raised his hand into Jaune's view, before coating it in emerald energy which Jaune easily identified as Magic. A small smirk came onto Ozpin's stoic expression as Jaune's shock was blatant.

_"What's your favorite Fairytale?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch that Shout Out? To those who didn't, the two nuns are Iris and Tamaki from Fire Force. Readers, I need help in creating fusion names for the characters, especially for Jaune and Sun and I would be really grateful if you place your suggestions along with the reviews.


	11. The Three Tasks I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jaune is actually grateful for his dancing lessons

Jaune stared at Ozpin's hand in shock. 'Magic?! That's definitely Magic but I thought only Mages could have it. Virgo told me herself that the number of mages currently in the whole Kingdom of Vale could be counted in one hand?!'

"Mr. Arc?" Headmaster Ozpin spoke to him, snapping him out of his mental tirade.

"Sir, What do you want me for?"

"Oh," Ozpin replied and put his hand down. "You don't seem surprised."

"No, Sir. You called me up here for a reason." Jaune frowned a bit as he went on. "You may have caught me off-guard with my transcripts but you've not only just said yourself that you can easily fix that problem, but now, you've asked this weird question and showed off a Mana coated hand, revealing yourself as a fellow mage in order to let my guard down."

Ozpin and Goodwitch blinked a bit before the Headmaster smiled in something that looked like a mix of resignation and approval.

"Excellent deduction, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said. "However, regarding my earlier question, we'll have to save it for another time."

Ozpin sat up and rummaged through his desk a bit. "This is Hunter License Undertaking Form."

He slapped the paper unto the table, ignoring both Jaune's and Goodwitch's dropped jaws. "If you undertake this, you can get full Huntsman privileges, easily rendering school transcripts as useless, whether genuine or forged. Do you accept to undergo it?"

"Wait! Ozpin, you can't be serious! He's practically a child!" Goodwitch strongly voiced her disapproval. " The earliest students who take their Hunter License exams are _Third Years!_ What's going through that head of yours this time?!"

Jaune looked down on the paper before looking back to his Headmaster. "If I fail or refuse to go through this, what will happen?"

"Nothing. You'll return to your team and pray to whatever deity you believe in that nobody other than us ever gets a reason to go through your files. If that time comes, I _will_ act appropriately as the school Headmaster."

"This however," Ozpin gestured to the paper. "solves that problem. The purpose of a Hunter Academy is to create capable Hunters. If you succeed at this, You'll essentially save yourself from problems that hamper your continued education at Beacon. _If_ you succeed, that is."

Jaune inflected a bit then signed the paper.

"Perfect. I'll have you take the Exam this weekend."

_"So soon?!"_

"No need to waste time, Mr. Arc. Naturally, I will adjust it to fit your skill set." Ozpin passed the signed form to Goodwitch, who was now glaring at Jaune, as if his existence was a great offence to her, causing him to get going.

"One last thing, Sir. How did you know I was a Mage?"

"The Emerald Forest has cameras, Mr. Arc. I believe I mentioned them that day." Goodwitch replied as she rubbed her temple.

Jaune thought back to Initiation, when he had been preoccupied by the scary lack of landing strategy. And all the chaos that followed after. Then he slapped his palm into his face.

"Goodbye, Mr. Arc and good luck to you." He called to Jaune's retreating back.

In the elevator, Jaune pulled out his Scroll and dialed to make a long overdue call.

"Hey Whitley. It's Jaune from the train..."

* * *

"Hunter License Exam?!" Pyrrha was shocked at this revelation. Team JNPR had just been informed by their leader for his sudden disappearance earlier. As well as all the results from his 'meeting'.

"And it's this weekend, huh? Jaune, you only just discovered your semblance a while ago and you haven't finished those moves we were experimenting." Ren said in worry. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine. Probably..." Jaune nervously replied.

"You just got to have a good incentive for winning." Nora said in encouragement. "You've got this, Fearless Leader."

"Why do you call me that, anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nora tilted her head.

"No. I'm not fearless. I've never been fearless."

"Maybe you feel like that," Pyrrha replied, moving to sit next to him. "But back in Initiation, you took control over our team so splendidly, that its hard to find any believe you were actually afraid at that time."

"It's even _more_ impressive now that we know that was practically your first combat scenario with Grimm." Ren chipped in. "There's no way I would have believed anyone calling you a _civilian_ after that."

"You're amazing, Jaune." Nora contributed as well. "And we're glad to have you as our friend and leader."

Jaune held back the tears that threatened to spill out. "You guys are the _best!"_

He pulled them all into an impromptu group hug. Not a single one of them resisted.

* * *

**The First Exam**

"Are you ready, Mr. Arc?"

"Yes, Sir."

In front of Jaune was Professor Port, who Jaune initially believed might have been alerted to Jaune's 'situation'. His later words convinced him otherwise.

"Haha! To think a strapping young man as yourself would aim to take this exam so early. I, myself, only started mine as a Second Year. You are going to go far, lad. Just remember to slow down a bit sometimes. There's nothing wrong with being ambitious, but you should still take time to admire where you are currently."

"Thank you, Sir." Jaune said as he received the paper from him. This was gonna need a lot of his brain power.

Jaune was _burning_ with enthusiasm.

 **One long,** **agonizing** **paper exam later**

"Uuuuhhh..."

Jaune was _burned out_ of enthusiasm.

His head was pounding as he passed his finished paper to Professor Port. After a nerve-wracking seven minutes of seeing his teacher mark his scores, especially since half of the questions were hypothetical questions and scenarios rather than what was taught in his Beacon classes.

"Hem Hem."

Jaune jolted at Port clearing his voice.

"Good work, Mr. Arc."

**First Exam Cleared**

"Now then. Please head to this location," Jaune suddenly received a Map alert on his Scroll. "for your second exam. Doctor Oobleck will be waiting for you." Professor Port gave him a thumbs up as Jaune rushed out of the classroom.

"Such passion! Reminds me of a certain man back in the day, when I was blah blah blah blah..." And then Professor Peter Port proved without a doubt, that even being alone in a classroom... would not stop him from giving self-serving stories about himself.

* * *

Jaune rushed off the Bullhead into the city, giving his thanks to Slagathor("It's Jeff!"). Jaune had just entered the marketplace when a small figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing to crash into it. Due to him recognizing that it was a child he had just collided with, he quickly shielded her body with his as they rolled to a stop.

After shaking their hair free of dust, Jaune took a look at the child. It was a little girl with long shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. She was also a Raccoon Faunus. A Raccoon Faunus who looked like she was about to cry.

"Woah. Woah. Woah. I'm sorry if I hit too hard please don't cry please." Jaune fell to his knees in a panic, trying to pacify her.

"I-I-It's not that, mister." The girl hiccupped through her tears. "I can't find my mommy!" She ended her sentence with a fresh wail.

"How long were you separated from her?" Jaune tried to speak over her cries while wiping her face clean.

"S-hic-Some minutes ago. I don't know."

 _'Minutes?!_ How come nobody's tried to help her?' He then heard the 'whispers' behind him.

"Look at her filthy _ears._ What an eyesore."

"What a noisy brat. Can't those _animals_ raise their cubs properly?"

"The Vytal Festival is almost upon us. How dare those lousy _beasts_ spoil our excitement?"

Noticing that the voices were coming from a direction rather than all around them, the voices came from a couple directly behind him. While they were teenagers like him, their uniforms spoke clearly of their origin.

'Atlas Students.' He then noticed a bench behind them. 'Perfect.'

"What's your name?"

"Snff. Raphtalia."

"That's a lovely name. Come now." Suppressing his anger, he carried Raphtalia in his arms and headed for the bench, steamrolling the Atlesian duo without hesitation.

"Y-You bastard!" The girl called from the ground.

"You gonna pay for that!" The girl's partner had stepped forward with his weapon drawn when Jaune's patience snapped and his anger leaked out.

_**"Go away!"** _

A wave of _pressure_ slammed into the Atlesian student as he beheld the boy holding the raccoon girl.

_No, not a boy._

_There was a **Knight** there._

_The **Knight,** while holding his charge safely in **His** arms, was glaring at him with enough heat to render him to ash and he could a strange weight over him, getting heavier and heavier-_

The surrounding crowd was a bit startled when a second after the Atlesian Huntsman charged forward, he had been literally _stared down into unconsciousness._ The Huntress looked like she might avenge her partner, but something in the Blond Knight's expression changed her mind. She swiftly carried her partner, who had started foaming in his mouth, out of sight.

Jaune sat Raphtalia down and after fiddling with his scroll a bit, he placed it next to her.

"We don't know where your mother is, and looking for her will increase the chances of us constantly missing each other." He stood back a bit after dropping Crocea Mors next to her as well. "So we do the next best thing."

A song started playing out loudly, catching everyone's attention around them.

_"We bring her to us."_

**Play while reading "Here Comes the Hotstepper (Evian version - Yuksek remix)"**

**"Hit it**

**Nah, na na na nah, na na na nah, na na nah, na na nah, na na na nah**

**Here comes the hotstepper, murderer**

**I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer**

**Pick up the crew in-a de area, murderer**

**Still love you like that, murderer"**

As the song went on, Jaune danced to the tune perfectly. For once in his life, Jaune was grateful for the dancing lessons his sisters forced him through.

**"Here comes the Hotstepper**

**I'm the lyrical gangster**

**I'm a live in-a me danger**

**Still love you like that**

**Hey**

**Da da da da**

**Da da da da**

**Da da da da"**

As the song ended, Jaune was greeted by a round of applause by his audience. He scanned the crowd but saw no worried parental faces amongst them.

"Um, mister Huntsman."

"Jaune. My name's Jaune."

"Mister Jaune. I don't see my mommy..." Raphtalia looked like she might start crying again.

"It's okay. Let me tell you what I'm doing. I'm causing a scenario in which I attract a large amount of attention on myself." Jaune gently rubbed her raccoon ears as he talked, calming her down. "This way, I'm attracting kids as well. And if the commotion is enough to draw in kids amongst adults..."

"Then Mommy will think I'm here and come looking." Jaune nodded in approval at Raphtalia's quick thinking. A Warthog Faunus in glasses, who had been watching from the moment Jaune had helped up Raphtalia, overhead their discussion and pulled out his Scroll to record and upload. Like a sent out signal, various spectators who hadn't pulled out their Scrolls from the beginning, did so immediately, unknowingly helping out Jaune's plan.

"Now then..." Jaune moved to his Scroll and set another song.

**Play while reading "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars**

**"This hit, that ice cold**

**Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold**

**This one for them hood girls**

**Them good girls straight masterpieces**

**Stylin', wilin', livin' it up in the city**

**Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent**

**Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty**

**I'm too hot (hot damn)**

**Call the police and the fireman**

**I'm too hot (hot damn)**

**Make a dragon wanna retire man**

**I'm too hot (hot damn)**

**Say my name you know who I am**

**I'm too hot (hot damn)**

**And my band 'bout that money, break it down**

**Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)**

**Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)**

**Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)**

**'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you**

**'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you**

**'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you**

**Saturday night and we in the spot**

**Don't believe me just watch (come on)"**

"Jaune?!" Jaune looked to see both Ruby and Weiss, staring at him.

Ruby in amazement.

Weiss in shock.

"Perfect!" He dashed forward and brought back the girls. "This is a group song."

"What?! No! I refuse to-" Weiss was _very_ vocal about her belief in public showmanship.

"Come on, Weiss." Ruby laughed, her very attitude contrasting against Weiss'. "It'll be fun."

Jaune and Ruby then trapped Weiss in between them (Jaune holding out his spare hand for Raphtalia to join them) and proceeded to finish the song with her reluctantly (but still with more professional dancing skill than her captors) in tow.

**"Come on, dance**

**Jump on it**

**If you sexy then flaunt it**

**Well it's Saturday night and we in the spot**

**Don't believe me just watch come on!**

**Don't believe me just watch uh**

**Don't believe me just watch uh**

**Don't believe me just watch uh**

**Don't believe me just watch**

**Don't believe me just watch**

**Hey, hey, hey, oh**

**Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown funk you up (say what?)**

**Uptown funk you up**

**Uptown funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown funk you up (say what?)**

**Uptown funk you up**

**Uptown funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown funk you up (say what?)**

**Uptown funk you up**

**Uptown funk you up (come on)**

**Uptown funk you up**

**Uptown funk you up (say what?)**

**Uptown funk you up"**

The crowd went wild as Jaune, Ruby, Weiss and Raphtalia bowed at the finish.

"Talia!"

Raphtalia's ears perked up with her head as she responded with joy. "Mommy!"

"Are we missing something?" Ruby looked to Jaune for answers. Jaune briefly explained about how Raphtalia had been separated from her mother and he created a one person flash mob for her sake.

"You really did that?" Weiss asked him with evident shock in her eyes. "For someone you didn't know on the streets?"

"Of course I did. Even if I wasn't aiming to be a Huntsman, how could I ignore a crying child alone in the middle of the street?" Unknown to Jaune, a couple of Scrolls were still recording and uploading his conversation to the Roosternet.

Weiss' shock changed from shock to what might have been approval. Then Ruby's next words took his attention.

"Yup. I guess for a hero, this would be a good use of free time."

'Free time? Free time... oh.. oh...' "I"M NOT ON FREE TIME!"

Jaune practically vanished as he rushed towards his previous destination.

"Wait!" Raphtalia's mother called out as he disappeared. "I wanted to thank him..."

"Don't worry, Ma'am." Ruby assured her. "I'm a friend of his from Beacon. I'll pass it on to him."

"Thank you, Miss Huntresses." Raphtalia beamed up at her savior's friends. Weiss stared at her with a blank expression on her face, before slowing patting her head and offering her a smile.

"We didn't do as much as Jaune did, but you are welcome."

* * *

**Omake**

Jaune was rushing through the city away from his new fans trying to make it to his second exam, when a peculiar sight stopped him.

It was a large wall with a mirror on it. The 'peculiar' part? His reflection was a baby version of him, complete in baby versions of his attire and weapons.

After waving his hands and making various motions which the baby accurately followed, he promptly started dancing again with Baby! Jaune copying him, while **'Hotstepper'** played in the background.

After dancing a bit and swing his sword a few times (Baby! Jaune's was a plastic toy), Baby! Jaune pulled out his Scroll and pointed at the Map Alert.

Jaune did the same and remembered he was supposed to be elsewhere and ran off. Baby! Jaune watched Jaune run off before facing the reader. He raised his chubby hand in a gun motion and spoke out.

**"Here comes the Hotstepper."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just watched that Hotstepper song after so many years and it got stuck in my brain.


	12. The Three Tasks II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune fights someone and gets another near death experience.

Jaune skidded as he ran into the exam site, internally screaming as he saw Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch and Oobleck, already waiting for him.

"I-I'm sorry, Professor Oobleck." Jaune panted as he tried to rein in his breath. "I lost track of time. I-I swear that- huh?"

As he looked up, he got confused by their actions. Rather any of them chewing out or giving him a disappointed glare, Professors Goodwitch and Ozpin were both watching something on her Tablet and Oobleck was crying tears of... _pride?_

"Um... Is everything alright, Professor?"

Oobleck snapped out of his funk and all three teachers noticed Jaune's presence. Jaune was understandably surprised when Oobleck suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Jaune's shoulders.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Mr Arc, that was simply the kind of behavior I was hoping to get from you!"

Jaune's confusion must have shown up on his face because Ozpin chuckled before speaking.

"Bart. Remember what I said about context?" Oobleck caught himself and released Jaune, which allowed him to turn to the other teachers for answers.

"Mr Arc, the Three Tasks you were meant to undergo were made so for a reason." Ozpin took a sip from his mug before continuing. "Do you remember the three tenets Professor Port mentioned in his first class with you and your classmates?"

'Ah, that thing that caused Weiss to snap back in class that day?' Jaune shook his head in apology. "I'm sorry, Professor. I can't remember the exact words."

"Well, I will remind you." Professor Goodwitch looked away from her Tablet to focus on Jaune. "The three core tenets of all true Hunters."

"The First Task tested your intelligence, strategy and tactical skills on paper, corresponding with 'A True Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise'."

'Wait, that thing Port mentioned in our first class _wasn't_ some self boosting story? It was an _actual_ fact?!' Jaune thought in shock.

"The Second Task tested your reaction to public issues and your methods of resolving them, which corresponds with 'A True Huntsman must be honorable'."

Jaune gasped in shock. "Wait! Are you guys saying that Raphtalia was-"

"Miss Raphtalia and her mother have no knowledge nor connection with us, Mr Arc." Ozpin raised a hand in pacification. "However, your reaction to a genuine public issue, while incredibly unorthodox, was nothing short of excellent."

"Indeed, Mr Arc." Oobleck said. "I was in charge of setting up the second task but now I see how irrelevant it is now, since after dealing with a _real_ situation, a _fake_ situation is rather pointless."

"When you encountered a crying child who had been separated from its parent, you ignored the fact that you were on a important schedule and immediately took care of the child's needs! If only many more acted like you these days." Goodwitch commended.

"Indeed." Ozpin said wistfully. "Life would be simpler and easier."

"Hold on a minute. You guys said that you had no connection with Raphtalia, right? How do you know what I did?"

Goodwitch turned her Tablet to face Jaune and pressed play on the video she and Ozpin had been watching earlier.

_"You really did that? For someone you didn't know on the streets?"_

_"Of course I did. Even if I wasn't aiming to be a Huntsman, how could I ignore a crying child alone in the middle of the street?"_

Jaune gaped as he saw the recording of him talking to Ruby and Weiss. "S-Someone taped that part?"

"Be thankful that they did, Mr Arc." Goodwitch put her Tablet away. "Otherwise, we might have failed you for tardiness."

Jaune gulped.

"And with that, I hereby declare the second exam passed!"

**Second Exam Cleared?**

"And now, it is time for the third exam." Goodwitch said. "Mr Arc, can you tell us the last tenet of a True Hunter?"

"Er, 'a True Huntsman must be dependable'?"

"Exactly, Mr Arc. As you undoubtedly know, Hunters are mostly known for one thing, which is..." Goodwitch gestured for Jaune to finish her sentence.

"Excellent Fighting skills." Jaune said, then suddenly widened his eyes in shock. "Wait a minute... you don't mean..."

"Yes, Mr Arc." Ozpin said. "The third exam is a combat evaluation."

Jaune screamed internally.

'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? ' Jaune fell into a state of panic. Outwardly, he had what he hoped was an ideal poker face. "Considering that I don't see any students around, my opponent is Professor Goodwitch?"

"What? No, Mr Arc." Ozpin said in amusement.

Jaune sighed in relief. 'Thank you, The Universe.'

Ozpin finished his statement. "Your opponent shall be _me,_ Mr Arc."

'Fuck you, The Universe.'

Jaune did not scream internally. The situation was bad enough to ditch sensibility. "Are you serious?!" He shouted, right at his Headmaster.

"Dead serious, Mr Arc."

Jaune then saw something that few Beacon Students ever saw in their lives. _Ozpin put the mug down._

'Shit! He's serious.'

* * *

**The Third Exam**

After noticing that Goodwitch and Oobleck had backed up to a safe area, Ozpin took out a bell ( **The type from Naruto** ), dangled it in front of Jaune and explained the rules.

There were two ways to pass. The first way was to take the bell from Ozpin's possession. He hung it from his chest pocket to make it as fair as possible. The second way was to land a solid hit Ozpin that he wouldn't be able to dodge or block.

"Ready!"

Jaune equipped Crocea Mors and took a stance.

"Set!"

Ozpin twirled his cane. "Mr Arc, I suggest you use _all the available_ skills you have for a proper evaluation, for _I_ will."

"GO!"

Jaune rushed forward and clashed his sword against Ozpin's cane. Ozpin didn't even budge and easily shook him off before striking at him. Jaune quickly raised his shield to block everyone of Ozpin's strikes, the sheer strength in each one rattling his arms.

After seeing a gap, he quickly brushed the cane aside with his shield and keeping his spare arm away with his sword, used his shield arm to grab the bell. His finger had almost touched it before Ozpin's shoe smashed his jaw, forcing him up into the air and a whole meter away from him until he crashed down.

Jaune quickly got his bearings and pumped Crocea Mors' sword full of Aura.

**"Aura Slash!"**

Jaune slashed forward, shooting out a large, white crescent of Aura right at the headmaster. The projected attack flew towards Ozpin till it was effortlessly knocked aside.

"Maybe I should have been clearer, Mr Arc. Use _all the available_ skills you have, from the start... and _come at me."_

_The World shifted and brightened as stars, no, a_ _**Constellation** _ _crashed down against Jaune. The_ _**Knight** _ _stood forward, raging against the_ _**Constellation** _ _for a total of two seconds before being obliterated in a wave of soul piercing, emerald light._

Jaune unabashedly fell to his knees, before staring up to the eyes of his Headmaster, who was suddenly looking a lot less human right now.

"What is the matter, Mr Arc? Are you too terrified to move?"

'T-T-T-That was Conqueror's Haki! I mean it's understandable that he'd have it but... but...'

Jaune got up to his feet and faced Ozpin again. "I apologize, Professor. I'll do my best to fight properly now."

Ozpin watched in curiosity as Jaune's Aura suddenly flared out, causing the usually invisible Aura Barrier to flare out in a visible white cloak all over his body. "What is this?"

"This is a move me and my teammates created when Ren and I practiced Aura Manipulation. A full body Aura reinforcement technique, **Super Hunter!"**

The visible effects were instant. Jaune's hair had flared out, slowly moving as if gravity had lost hold on it; the muscles that Ozpin could see through the gaps of his armor were bulging and clenching; and Jaune's eyes had gone from dark blue to white.

"Interesting. I suppose there is at least a significant increase in physical abilities."

"That and More!" Jaune whipped out Virgo's Key.

**"Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"**

There was a flash of light as Virgo manifested into the world. However, there was a difference now. Virgo currently had an Aura cloak similar to Jaune's, appearing pink in color and had the side effect of turning her eye color pink as well.

"Let's go!"

Jaune rushed forward and clashed against Ozpin again, this time, sending him back a few meters. That wasn't all as Virgo shot up from underground and uppercut Ozpin, causing to receive the same jaw pain he delivered to Jaune earlier.

"You will receive punishment!" Virgo exclaimed as she clasped her hands and gathered up power.

"Wait what?" Ozpin only managed to let out those words before getting slammed into the ground.

**"Spica Hole."**

Just as Ozpin hit the ground, a circular hole was instantly created, causing him to fall deep into the earth.

"Lets rest for a bit before I blitz him again." Jaune panted a bit as **Super Hunter** was draining his stamina rather fast in actual combat.

Virgo tilted her head. "Time for punishment?"

"Why?!"

Jaune _really_ did not like the suspicious look Professor Goodwitch had sent him at Virgo's words. He then turned to face the Ozpin hole. "One of the objectives to pass was to land a solid hit on you, but I presume that Virgo's attack doesn't count. Right, Professor?"

"Indeed." Light glared from within the Ozpin hole before something bright shot up into the air and _stayed there._ It was Ozpin, who glowing with emerald light as he floated, granting a rather otherworldly appearance to himself.

"You really are a mage, aren't you?" Jaune stared in awe.

"Indeed." Virgo spoke as she observed the Headmaster landing back on the ground, the glow however not diminishing in the slightest. "He is using a Caster/Holder Magic right now, called **Heavenly Body Magic."**

"You know about it?" Jaune readied himself once more for combat.

"Yes. The boyfriend of Princess' comrade used it." Virgo replied. "It's extremely suited for offensive combat. Be careful, Master. And good luck." With that, Virgo disappeared.

"Well then lets continue." Ozpin bent forward a bit. **"Meteor."**

He vanished as he burst forward. However, rather that raising his shield forward, Jaune immediately brought his shield to his right. This payed off, successfully blocking Ozpin's cane with it.

"Interesting, Mr Arc. It is rare to find someone capable of all three types of Haki." Ozpin said before disengaging and literally disappearing in a flash. Luckily, Jaune was now able to keep up, causing the battlefield to be filled with flashes of light and shockwaves from each collision against each other.

Ozpin slashed forward, releasing a horizontal, green **Aura Slash** of his own. Jaune quickly ducked under it before suddenly, his **Super Hunter** form disappeared. The sudden loss of energy caused him to stumble, barely missing a second **Aura Slash** as he fell down.

"What happened?" Oobleck called from the side.

"Mr Arc is now out of Aura." Goodwitch replied. "Whatever he was using to keep up with the Headmaster, it's extremely draining."

"That's a shame." Oobleck said. "Usually, only the Third Years are at least capable of keeping up."

Jaune panted on the ground a bit before suddenly dodging Ozpin's cane. He rolled to his feet to stare at his opponent in shock.

"Don't be so surprised, Mr Arc." Ozpin said as he rushed forward and clashed his cane against Jaune's sword. "Other than your conditions to pass, please treat this as you would treat a real battle."

"I guess a 'real battle' wouldn't end just because my Aura ran out." Jaune grunted as sparks formed from the two weapons grinding against each other.

"Indeed." Ozpin said before Jaune suddenly relaxed his legs, allowing him to grab his clothes and kick him away. Ozpin never even touched the ground, flying straight up before suddenly reversing direction and start coming down, slamming boot first unto Jaune's chest, his armor saving him from broken ribs at least.

Jaune quickly rolled away as Ozpin got off, swiping something from the pouch that hung from his lower back. It was a high grade taser, meant only to be used in times of emergency for Nora's use. Naturally, while all other members of Team JNPR were allowed to carry one, Nora herself was denied for good reason.

Ozpin watched in curiosity as Jaune **Hardened** his sword and tased it, emptying the device's charge.

A soft gasp of relief left Jaune's lips as the electricity was absorbed into the sword and transformed by the Haki, turning black to match the blade.

"I see now." Ozpin commented, slowly cracking his neck as his **Heavenly Body Magic** deactivated. "With your Aura gone, you're simply now concentrating on your Haki."

Ozpin raised his cane into Jaune's view, **Hardening** it as well. He then began to **Imbue** it as well, creating what Jaune hoped was an illusion of emerald flames along his weapon.

"Let's end this, shall we?"

There was a moment of stillness as the two stared at each other before rushing forward. As soon the two combatants collided, Jaune and Ozpin simultaneously activated their Conqueror's Haki along with the clash.

The resulting combo caused a great shockwave which blew away everything around them, except the spectating teachers, as Goodwitch quickly used her Semblance to catch herself and Oobleck. Once she had oriented herself, she looked at the two fighting and promptly lost control over her lower jaw.

Crocea Mors and The Long Memory, being **Imbued** with both Armament _and_ Conqueror's Haki, _weren't even touching each other._ The two combatants growled as their weapons despite being pushed forward, were kept apart by an invisible barrier of force and opposing willpower, constantly battling in a literal contest of wills.

A contest which Jaune was sadly but slowly losing. As seconds passed and Jaune was actually pushed back, carving a trench through the ground with his legs, he suddenly disengaged.

Using Ozpin's shock and loss of balance, he spun on his foot and slashed his chest, scoring a thin line across his Headmaster's top.

Ozpin looked down at his jacket as Jaune slowly oriented himself and panted heavily.

"Congratulations, Mr Arc." Ozpin gave a genuine smile. "You have passed the Third Exam."

Jaune grinned then raised his sword into Ozpin's view. His eyes widened as the saw the sparks still running through the blade _and the bell magnetized to it._

Despite what he saw, Ozpin still patted his chest and nodded in confirmation when he only found a cut off string.

***THUMP***

Jaune's adrenaline had been exhausted, allowing to collapse.

"It's over." Jaune rasped as he slowly faded into unconsciousness. "I-I did it..."

The other two teachers came to stand by Ozpin and watched Jaune's sleeping form.

"Congratulations, Mr Arc." Headmaster Ozpin said. "I believe we will be scoring you full marks for passing both objectives."

"Still, to think electrifying his sword while applying Armament Haki to it would allow it to harness and retain its electricity." Goodwitch complimented. "I'm not proficient in Armament Haki myself, but that was really surprising to me."

"It was to me as well." The two teachers turned to face the Headmaster, who was staring at Crocea Mors in curiosity. "Even I didn't know that was possible. It seems even I can still learn something new."

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Ozpin**

**Age: 44**

**Title: The Clockwork Huntsman, The Heavenly Body Mage**

**Aura: Dark Green**

**Color Motif: Black, Green**

**Magic: Green with Rainbow effects**

**Semblance: Barrier. Ozpin has the ability to create translucent, green barriers in any shape he wishes.**

**Sex: Male**

**Alignment: Lawful Good**

**Likes: Chocolate, Peace, His lost family**

**Dislikes: Enemies of his school and Humanity, an unnamed Grimm Witch**

**Bio: Ozpin is typically both stoic and affable towards people he speaks to. He is genuinely shocked to find a full Mage other than him and the Grimm Witch. He doesn.t count the Maidens as Mages as they are just offshoots of his own power.**

* * *

**KingVessel: Please review and send me your thoughts on the fight scene. Even though Jaune is stronger than canon, I tried to show just how beyond Ozpin is. Also for those who didn't notice, the three tasks are based on** **qualities** **of a 'True Huntsman' which Port mentioned in his first appearance and class**


	13. Birth, Death & Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory chapter.

When Jaune woke up, the Sun was setting and he was laying down on a bench. He quickly sat up in alarm and dearly paid for it by suffering a strong headache.

"Be still, Mr. Arc." A pair of strong arms gently pushed Jaune back into a sitting position. "As you are currently suffering from Haki, Mana and Aura exhaustion all at once, that headache you're experiencing is actually the best possible result you could have gotten."

Turning his head, he saw Professor Ozpin sitting down next to him, while the other two teachers were absent.

"Bartholomew has left for his private appointments while Glynda has returned to Beacon to properly update your forms." Ozpin answered his unasked question. "Congratulations, I dare say that expulsion due to forgery is a far away delusion now."

"Right." Jaune winced as his ribs and legs joined his headache in tormenting him. "Thank you for the opportunity, Sir."

"And thank you for accepting and also for the exercise." Ozpin chuckled at Jaune's disgruntled and confused look. "I apologize for the confusion, Mr. Arc. It's just that it's been so long since I had a fight that wasn't for the sake of training or a life or death matter."

Ignoring Jaune's shocked expression, Ozpin continued. "In fact, It's been years since I actually fought someone seriously and had fun from it."

"Ah. Ok, then." Jaune just sat there, soaking in the late afternoon breeze with his Headmaster. "I haven't felt like this since the days my sister trained me. _Everything hurts~_ "

After a full minute, Ozpin spoke again. "Mr. Arc, do you remember what I asked you when I initially called for you?"

"Uh, Yeah. Something about a favorite fairy tale." Jaune replied before sitting up in confusion and looking at his Headmaster. "Why did you ask me something like that by the way? It had absolutely no connection to any of the exams I did today."

"Just humor this old man a favor."

"I'm pretty sure you're in your early forties, though..."

"Believe that if you wish."

Jaune stared at Ozpin for a bit before relaxing back. "My favorite fairy tale is the tale of creation. The version Virgo told me at least."

"Oh. A Celestial Spirit's version of that tale would be very interesting, compared to the versions passed down by different sects of mankind. Please, carry on."

"Long before time had a name, there existed a previous world, not our own in the slightest, called Terra."

"Terra..." Ozpin tested the name on his lips.

"In that world, there existed several species inhabiting it, just like ours. However, Humanity did not exist there, not in the slightest."

It was only years of experience that allowed Ozpin to bury his shock within his interest, which admittedly wasn't faked at all. This was completely different from any accounts left behind in religious texts, folktales and fairytales. It would seem that Jaune, thanks to the Celestial Spirits' ageless nature, had gotten the most accurate telling ever.

"In that world, there were three dominant species at the top of the food chain."

"Firstly, the Dragons. They were a small but immensely powerful race, consisting of large, reptilian creatures. Each dragon possessed at the very least, incredibly durable scales and immense magical power of various elements. While each elemental dragon had it's respective king, the strongest of all dragons would be granted the title 'Dominant Emperor: Rex'."

Ozpin suddenly had a bad feeling about the Elder Grimm sleeping in Mount Glenn.

"Secondly, the Angels. They were a group of powerful beings, consisting of humanoids with white feathered wings, immense holy power over the Light element and it's various associations such as energy, illusions, holiness and so forth. Amongst them, the strongest of all angels would be granted the title 'Supreme Deity: Seraph'."

"Thirdly, the Demons. Unlike the earlier two, demons don't really have a set form as their appearances and abilities vary. Even so, there are a number of common traits they all share which include black leathery wings, immense demonic power over darkness and it's various associations, similar to the angels. Similar to the dragons, they weren't united but rather separated into tribes with their respective chiefs. Even though, the strongest amongst them, rather than a ruler was instead a diplomat, given the title 'Malignant Overlord: Devil'."

Ozpin considered himself right in assuming the integrity of the Celestial Spirits' accuracy. He didn't know the slightest thing about any of the creatures Jaune had just mentioned, but the sheer matter-of-fact tone he spoke with easily assured him he wasn't getting a fictional tale but an easily disguised historical fact. 'Bart would be really jealous about this.'

"One day, a person came into existence. He was an anomaly which possessed traits of all three factions. It's unknown how he came into existence but as he possessed an equal blend of powers from the three factions without suffering any backlash from the opposing natures, he quite easily became the strongest and most unique entity present. The 'Transcendent One Above All: God'. His name was Monty Oum. Yes, _our_ Oum."

By now, Ozpin's eyes widened in shock at what he just heard. He then motioned to Jaune to continue his paused tale.

"The three factions were in the middle of a war at the time, causing Oum great distress. No matter how much he tried to get them to stop their war and coexist in peace, he was shunned for not taking sides."

"I see." Ozpin cut in. "Neither was he able to stop the war nor was he able to choose a side and defeat the rest. What did he do then?"

Jaune gave a somewhat sad smile. "He gave up. He ditched his world and left it, till he created a new world with his powers. The World Earthland."

Ozpin quickly suppressed the feelings of familiarity and nostalgia that threatened to express themselves on his face.

"Thankfully, not all of the residents of Terra wished to be caught up in the war, so whenever possible, Oum used his planet as a refugee spot. It was an equivalent exchange in his eyes. People who didn't wish to die on Terra, came to Earthland in peace and Oum who hadn't fled by choice, was happy not only to at least save some of his home planet's people but also got friends which relieved him of his loneliness."

"After a while, he would meet a strange woman. She did not belong to his new world nor his old one. Neither a dragon, nor an angel nor a demon, but he felt a strong kinship as she was an anomaly even stranger than him. Later on, Oum would marry her and gain two sons from her."

"Wait." Ozpin's eyes widened a second time. "A-Are you telling me that-"

"Yes, Professor." Jaune confirmed. "The two born sons would soon grow up to be the gods we know them as. The Deity Brothers of Light and Darkness. The Elder twin would possess Angelic and Draconic Attributes as his dominant traits, leaving his Demonic Attribute recessive but still present. However, the Younger twin would possess Demonic and Draconic Attributes as his dominant traits, with the Angelic Attribute as his recessive trait. This coincidence would cause them to become equals yet opposites as Gods in many ways."

'It is amazing how similar yet different it is from what I know.' Ozpin thought, imaginary cogs, gearing up in his mind as he processed this information.

"After a while, Oum's wife disappeared, causing Him to chase after her and leave his Sons in charge of Earthland."

'Damn. Even Oum had wife issues which fucked up the world later on, huh...'

"Oum's Sons, soon to be the Deity Brothers of Light and Darkness, became in charge of the World. Each respectively adding to Earthland's population with various species. A common misconception was that the God of Darkness would be jealous or disgusted with His Brother's Concept of Creation. Virgo told that this wasn't the case."

"It wasn't?" Ozpin questioned.

"No. For everything the God of Light created, The God of Darkness countered for the sake of balance. For example, Sir, imagine if the sea was created without a limit. If the tides just kept rising and rising and rising..."

"The whole planet would be flooded." Ozpin said, breathless with shock. This... explained a lot actually.

"To curb His Brother's Creation, The God of Darkness utilized his Concept of Destruction to perfectly counter everyone of them. Eventually, The God of Darkness would create a creature of pure blackness too powerful for His Brother to counter. I say blackness because Virgo said calling It dark in color felt too tame."

Ozpin quietly gulped before asking. "What did the God of Darkness create?"

"It is, and I use the term 'is' because it's definitely still alive somewhere out there," Jaune vaguely waved his hand in a random direction. "Some sort of goo or slime creature, dangerously black."

"'Dangerously black', Mr. Arc?"

"Yes. First of all, imagine that there is the color black, which one can still observe in the broadest daylight. Then imagine the shadow, where light is visibly blocked from venturing. Then imagine true darkness, where absolutely no light can venture at all, but that would just be an absence of light. This creature was colored in such a darkness beyond all conceivable shades of black. There are depths in the ocean where the light has never reached, where it has never even existed. There is a place where the darkness is thick enough to snuff out any candle, quench any fire. Imagine all that I just said and then you could get the idea of how 'black' it is. It's darkness was so dense that it could put out the Sun. And then it did something similar to that."

"Similar?"

"When this creature was created, The Deity Brothers had already created Humanity as a smaller, weaker version of themselves, using of the concepts Creation, Destruction, Knowledge and Choice. While the Gods _had_ granted them power similar to theirs's," Jaune briefly raised his hand and let a bit of his Mana seep through to illustrate his point. "It was a far, far, FAR smaller scale than the Gods were capable of."

"As time went by, other gods would soon arrive unto Remnant. There were two types. First were the Pureborn, naturally born entities possessing World Class power such as Monty Oum and his Family and then Aurelion Sol, who would soon be known as the Celestial Spirit King and have the Celestial Spirits under him in his own realm, which was layered around Earthland."

"Secondly were the Wishborn, Entities manifested out of the wishes and prayers of Humanity. The Celestial Spirit King admired the ability of a race to collectively create and potentially destroy Gods as they wished. So he rewarded them in his Authority. For every star and constellation named, He would create a Celestial Spirit based from it and drop it's key unto Earthland in random locations, gifting Humanity with a different branch of magic beyond what the Deity Brothers had offered."

As he spoke, Jaune had taken out his Keys and was watching them fondly. Ozpin cleared his throat and asked about the earlier 'slime creature'.

"Sir, how many Zodiac Spirits are there?"

"Twelve, I believe." Ozpin answered.

"Several centuries ago, the correct answer to that would be _thirteen_. Due to a series of circumstances, The Slime encountered and then _devoured_ Ophiuchus the Snake Charmer, and then spit out what was _something else._ In Virgo's words, 'It was a humongous snake-like creature which had become part organic and part mechanical in nature, possessing dark scales indistinguishable from the... _Thing_ that had devoured her littlest sister.'"

"I-I see." It was only the stutter in his voice that spoke of just how disturbed Ozpin was from that.

"The Celestial Spirit King was _enraged_ as not only one of his children had been irreparably corrupted, but the Slime had stolen her Divinity and had gained sentience. Plus, there was the fact that Ophiuchus hadn't been introduced to Humanity yet, meaning that no one but the Celestial Spirits would ever remember the original beauty that once was. Due to it's newly gained power, the Slime wreaked havoc, spreading about and devouring everything. People, animals, even bits of the planet itself."

"The three Pureborn, being the strongest in existence, combined their power and sealed it into a separate dimension which would later be called the Land of Darkness. From what Virgo last saw of them, the creature had been separated into numerous pools-"

Ozpin dropped his cane in shock. He had always just considered it a mere background in _there,_ where he had been first resurrected. He had been confused about his wife's later appearance, but he had just ignored it for the sake of their love together. He then thought back to Jaune's earlier words about 'devouring and spitting back out something else'. It was the Slime. It had devoured his wife and brought back... _that._ After composing himself and looking into Jaune's worried expression.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Jaune asked. "You seem to be taking this... personally."

Ozpin composed himself and answered back. "I am alright, Mr. Arc. Please continue."

Jaune looked doubtful but went on.

"Later on, something happened which caused the Celestial Spirit King to be _enraged again._ A group of kingdoms, led by some woman, apparently challenged the Deity Brothers over something, which they responded with a World Wrecking Wave which _killed off every human being on the planet."_

Ozpin could only grip his cane in silence. He hadn't been alive yet for that, but the legitimate account of the celestial spirit which had been passed on to her contractor Jaune, still hurt to hear. The result of Salem's actions causing a world wide extinction event still tormented, regardless of how many lifetimes he passed through.

"Ten of the Golden Celestial Spirits, five Silver Celestial Spirits and the Celestial Spirit King Himself _waged war_ against the Deity Brothers."

Ozpin was surprised at this. "The Celestial Spirit King was a God himself right? Why would he care?"

Jaune stared at him in a deadpan expression. "Do you think that just because He's a God, He looks down on humans? Sir, at the moment The God of Darkness rendered Humanity extinct, _He also killed off Lucy Dragneel, all of her family save one and every single other human on the planet who hadn't even been on the same continent as the woman who challenged them!_ As a parent himself, and knowing that Humanity in a way were children of the Deity Brothers, how do you think He would feel about parents _killing off their children like bugs, especially involving the innocent as well?!_ Add in His personal relationship with Lucy Dragneel and you'd get an extremely wrathful God."

"Who is Lucy Dragneel?" Ozpin asked carefully, still reeling from what he was being told and Jaune's apparent rage. "She sounds important."

"Lucy Dragneel was Virgo's previous contractor, as well as the Celestial Spirit King's _only_ human friend."

"I see..."

"The Celestial Spirit King would then chase the Deity Brothers off Earthland, only letting them back briefly to recreate Humanity again, however without access to magic and mana anymore."

Jaune then stopped briefly to pull out his Keys and admire them. "This is part of my dreams you know."

"Your dreams, Mr. Arc?"

"Yes. I wanna be a Hero worthy of my family's name. But I also want to get stronger to survive the Grimmlands. I will reach Magnolia, find the Fairy Tail Mage Guild and pay my respects to my Predecessor. My friend wanted to join me on that but she passed on a while ago."

Jaune raised his fist and clenched it in determination. "Now, I'm carrying that dream for the both of us."

Ozpin blinked and gaped at Jaune in shock. For a brief moment, he had seen two pale figures around his student. The first was a small white haired girl sitting on Jaune's lap, humming to her self. The second was a tall blonde woman, stroking Jaune's hair, her own set of Celestial Gate Keys hanging from her hip. After Ozpin blinked again, the two were gone.

"There's my favorite fairy tale." Jaune said, unknowingly getting back his Headmaster's attention. "I know it's fantastical, but it's always had a strong impact on me."

"...I see." Ozpin stood up, looked at his long empty cup and let out a long sigh. "I need to rethink a lot of things..."

He turned to face Jaune. "Be sure to be back in the school before curfew, Mr. Arc. Good night."

He then left Jaune, who stood up himself and stretched his body. "Well, I guess I'll just head back."

He rubbed his throat as he followed Ozpin back to Beacon. "I want some grape juice so bad..."

* * *

After getting off Slagathor's Bullhead("My name's Jeff!") and separating from Ozpin, who told him to just continue his school life normally, Jaune was heading back to his room, ready to collapse into bed when suddenly as he almost reached the door-

_"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"_

Jaune made a small sound of confusion. 'Was that Blake?'

It was indeed as the girl in question suddenly dashed out of her room and down the hallway, nearly toppling him over.

"Blake, wait! Come back!"

Ruby was at RWBY's room door calling for the runaway girl.

Jaune _might_ have considered helping her out, but quickly deciding that this was a matter for a Jaune who _wasn't_ exhausted out of his mind and body, quietly entered his room, his exhaustion causing him to miss the unsettled expressions of Blake's team.

* * *

**Mage Profile**

**Name: Lucy Dragneel née Heartfilia**

**Age: 29 (Before the Purple Death Wave)**

**Title: The Star Princess, Celestial Spirit Mage**

**Color Motif: Pink, Blue, Gold**

**Magic: Gold with sparkles**

**Sex: Female**

**Alignment: Neutral Good**

**Likes: Yogurt, Her family, Fairy Tail, her friends, her books(Written and Read)**

**Dislikes: Enemies of her family, friends and Fairy Tail**

**Bio: Lucy was** **a Mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, happily married with children as one of Natsu's wives. She unfortunately died to the Purple Death Wave released unto Earthland by the God of Darkness.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn. To all of you who just thought I was just adding Fairy Tail aspects to a RWBY setting, I hope I proved you all wrong. After all, this isn't the first time an antagonist was cursed with immortality for wanting a deceased loved one back to life. The difference is Zeref never bothered asking the Gods for permission... Read and review, please. Also, how can I get a Tv Tropes page for this Fanfic?


	14. Black and White and White and Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune finds Blake very quickly, meets his foster brother and nearly dies... again.

Jaune sighed as he moved through the city again, his stomach still rumbling from the earlier Bullhead ride.

It had been almost two days since he'd seen Blake that night. Apparently, she'd gotten into an argument with Weiss, who was apparently anti-Faunus like Cardin used to be.

'I think I'm close to Daisy's café.' Jaune noticed that he had almost passed it in his search for Blake. Ruby had roped Jaune and his team into searching for her. He wished he could say it was the teary, puppy dog eyes that Ruby displayed, but Jaune was quite sure it was more of the feeling of guilt for not caring about it the night she ran away.

'I'll pop in for a bit and take some coffee to settle my stomach.' He stepped through the door of the Pride Lair and greeted on his way in.

"Jaune!"

That was all the warning he got before he got a pair of boobs to the face. Their owner, Daisy August, happily grabbed him and swung him around, drawing the attention of every customer.

"I can't believe you took so long to come visit me." Daisy released Jaune, who was now sporting a heavy blush. "Take a seat wherever you like. I'll come see you soon, alright?"

Jaune nodded then looked around for a suitable seat while Daisy attended to one of her snickering customers, then blanched at what he saw at the outside balcony.

* * *

"Finally, she speaks!" Sun raised his arms in relief. "Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Blake responded by giving Sun a firm look. "Yeah, like that."

Blake rolled her eyes but before she could reply-

"Sun? Blake?!" The two Faunus whirled around to see Jaune staring at them in shock.

"Jaune!" Blake's shock increased when Sun leapt out of his chair to hug Jaune and it went further when Jaune returned the gesture, still looking at her in confusion.

"What are you two doing here?" Jaune pushed Sun back, holding him by the shoulders. "Wait, Blake's Ruby's problem. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Oh. I just came here early to stake out the city for the Vytal Festival- Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow-"

Jaune had grabbed Sun's cheeks and was stretching them. "We're in the first semester. The Vytal Festival starts in the _third_ semester. Who the hell would scout so early?!"

* * *

In the middle of their search for Blake, Weiss suddenly sneezed.

* * *

"You two seem close..." Blake observed.

"Of course, we're close." Jaune said to Blake while ignoring Sun's protests of pain. "He's my brother after all."

"Brother?!" Blake exclaimed in shock. The two did look alike very much...

"Yeah, I'm adopted." Sun mumbled through his mushed up mouth, still trying to free his captured cheeks.

"And you!" He released Sun and pointed at Blake.

"M-Me?" Blake shrunk in on herself.

"Yes, you! I don't much about about what happened but you left Ruby crying. What the hell, Blake?!" Jaune panted, staring down Blake while Sun snuck back into his seat, still rubbing his swollen cheeks.

There was a bit of silence before Jaune suddenly sat down in the spare chair. "Sorry for venting on you guys. I'm still suffering from my motion sickness and I still don't have much context what the whole argument was about."

"It's fine." Blake replied. "I may have feared a bad reaction from all of them, thinking back on it, Ruby and Yang probably wouldn't cared in the slightest."

"I still have no idea what you girls were actually arguing about." Jaune said in question.

"Yeah. I've been with her for almost two days and I haven't gotten a single word from her." Sun chimed in.

"Alright, ignoring the fact that you were probably alone with Blake for two days," Jaune turned to face his brother. "Where the fuck have you two been staying?"

"We housed with an old friend of mine. He owns a book store nearby and let us sleep there for a while." Blake answered.

"I see." Jaune replied, then turned back to his brother. "In that case, I apologize for interrupting your date."

***PFFFFFFFFFFT***

Blake spit out her Espresso in shock and embarrassment.

"Easy, miss!" Daisy exclaimed as she brought up an order for Jaune. "You didn't mention any specifics, so I just brought you one of the store favorites."

"Thanks!" Jaune happily accepted the cup. "I love Cappuccino!"

"Can I have a cup of Glace?" Sun asked.

"Sure! Coming up." Daisy then left the teenagers to enjoy their beverages.

After a while of the trio just drinking in silence, with Jaune and Sun catching up and Blake mildly listening in, Blake finally addressed them.

"Sun, Jaune... Are either of you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course!" Sun put down his cup for a moment. "I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

"I agree." Jaune put down his cup as well. "I don't really have anything against the Faunus but the White Fang is an entirely different matter. Take Cardin for example."

"Cardin?" Blake questioned. The guy in question was a jerk but he seemed to have mellowed out once he started dating Velvet.

"His mom got killed in a White Fang attack. You think he's bad now? Try five years ago when he discovers that his mom, a Faunus rights activist herself, got killed by one of their bombs."

"You have no idea how badly he dealt with it back then." Sun got a haunted look on his face. "I still remember the shockwaves, shaking through my body..."

"It's okay, man." Jaune patted Sun's back reassuringly. "He's already apologized, okay? He's not gonna hurt you anymore."

He turned to Blake. "What was your point in asking that?"

Blake sipped her drink while listening until she spoke up. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

**"Wait, What?!"** The brothers exclaimed in unison.

"That's right." Blake answered. "I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it..."

Blake then proceeded to explain her past with the White Fang and its origins. She stated that after the Faunus Rights Revolution, the White Fang had been created as a symbol of peace and unity between the Humans and Faunus. However, despite being promised equality, the Faunus had still been treated as inferior, so the White Fang became the voice of their people.

Ever since childhood, Blake stood with them at every protest, boycott and rally, thinking that they were making a difference. However, five years ago, their leader was replaced by someone with violent and radical ideals.

Their new leader replaced the group's peaceful protests with organized attacks, arson of shops that refused to serve them, and hijackings of shipments for businesses which used Faunus labor. Blake regretfully acquiesced that while these methods had been working, the equal treatment the Faunus had gained was through fear, rather than respect. Hating what the White Fang had become, she left and decided to use her combat skills to instead become a Huntress.

While Sun slowly came to terms with this, Jaune got over it quickly.

"When did you leave?" Jaune flat-out asked the ex-terrorist.

"...Last year." Blake folded in on herself as she answered, most likely due to expected rebuke for staying with the 'Red' Fang for a whole four years.

"...I forged my transcripts to enter Beacon."

"What?!" Blake dimly noticed that Sun didn't surprised at that, meaning he was privy to it at least.

"I'm just telling you that so that you know that I'm not a guy who has the right to criticize you or anything." Jaune sat back and emptied his cup.

"Neither am I." Sun's tail waved empathically as he spoke. "I did meet your team as a stowaway, remember. None of us are shining symbols of morality, you know."

"By the way," Sun continued as Jaune paid for all of their drinks. "Have you told your friends any of this?"

Blake's silence was his answer.

* * *

The trio later left the café, and headed somewhere Jaune didn't know about. He'd secretly texted Yang about Blake. He didn't reveal her location but he at least assured her of her safety.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked, with his hands behind his head.

Blake contemplated this for a moment. "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

Jaune thought back to Roman and Neo's new 'employer', how Roman had started focusing on just Dust rather than the usual valuables and how desperate they were getting to become 'unhired' rather than 'fired'. Favor #02 was still underway, until he could safely get those names.

Sun widened his eyes. "What if they did?"

He lowered his arms and paced in front of Jaune and Blake as he continued his theory. "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be." Blake replied.

"And even if we're looking for just Dust shops, there still too many, due to the fact that a Hunter Academy is right nearby." Jaune added.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas." Sun told them.

"How huge?" Jaune asked.

"Huge." Sun emphasized by making arm motions. "Big Schnee Company freighter."

"Wow, that's huge." Jaune acknowledged.

"You're sure?" Blake asked, now very invested in the idea.

"I'm not sure about this myself." Jaune said, getting the other two's attention. "A high profile freighter will obviously come with similarly good security. Not to mention, on the off chance they deal with that, how the White Fang will actually _take_ the stolen Dust away is another issue to consider."

"Jaune, you are forgetting that the White Fang is a _terrorist_ organization, not an actual robbery gang." Sun said, missing Blake's look of protest. "They don't have to even take anything. All they have to do, is simply _prove they can_ to everyone else."

"Damn..."

* * *

Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake and Jaune hid on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers.

"Did I miss anything?" Sun asked, appearing out of nowhere and sitting down next to Blake.

"Not really." Blake replied. "They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"And the security's really thin for some reason." Jaune said in worry.

If the White Fang did come here, their 'PR Theory' plan would be a lot more easier for them with little resistance.

"Cool." Sun held out one of several green apples he's carrying "I got you guys some food!"

"That I paid for." Jaune took it and bit into it immediately, relishing the vitamin.

Suddenly, the winds blew all around them, and they looked up to see an arriving Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.

"Oh no..." Blake said dejectedly.

"Is that them?" Jaune asked for confirmation.

"Yes... It's them." Blake replied as she observed the bloody wolf emblem on the back of one man's outfit.

"All right, grab the tow cables!" One White Fang Soldier instructed the other members coming from the aircraft, motioning with his rifle.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun said to Blake.

Blake stared down sadly at the scene. "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." she closed her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she heard a voice familiar to Jaune.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" Torchwick's voice carried through the yard as the man himself climbed down the Bullhead ramp. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Jaune exclaimed in shock. From what he knew, Roman hated the White Fang even worse than he did. Or was he using their names as a cover for this 'new employer' and carrying false White Fang members as accomplices?

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." Blake stood up and unsheathed Gambol Shroud's katana.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun yelled alarmed as Blake walked off the edge of the roof.

Blake fell to the ground in a crouch, then ran forward on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Torchwick berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Torchwick scolded. As he looked around, Blake suddenly appeared behind him with her blade at his throat.

"What the- Oh, for fuc-" Torchwick rolled his eyes when he's cut off by Blake mid-swear.

"Nobody move!" Blake yelled to the White Fang members.

The White Fang soldiers readied their guns and equipped their swords in response.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Torchwick calmly said, as if he didn't have a dangerous weapon at his throat.

As the White Fang closed in on her, Blake used her free hand to loosen her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears were shown to the others.

'Cat ears!' Jaune thought. 'I know this isn't the time for it, they look so adorable~'

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" Blake yelled out in a demanding tone.

The White Fang members lowered their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do.

Torchwick suddenly laughed out. "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded an answer.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!" Torchwick explained.

"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake turned her blade slightly, pressing it against Torchwick's throat.

Suddenly, the air was filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.

Torchwick grinned as he looked up "'Little operation' huh. Not in the slightest..."

Two more Bullheads appeared, hovering above the group.

"Shit." Sun accurately explained the situation in one word as he and Jaune watched from their rooftop.

"I guess this explains how they were gonna get away with a whole freighter's worth of Dust..." Jaune said in dismay, before suddenly turning around and staring at something.

"Sun, go help Blake!" Sun looked at his brother as he slid back. "There's something I got to check on!"

Sun nodded and jumped off in Blake's direction.

* * *

As Blake watched in horror, Torchwick smiled and fired his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.

Blake was dazed but relatively unhurt as she got up from the ground. She quickly rolled and dodged out of the way of Torchwick's continued attacks, using her semblance to avoid some close calls as she retreated behind more containers.

Torchwick approached slowly. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." His taunt was interrupted when a banana peel landed on his head, causing him to look up and growl at the assailant.

Sun leapt from on top a container and dropped down on the criminal's face feet-first, stunning Torchwick for a moment as Sun flipped to the side, readying himself to fight. "Leave her alone!"

The Bullheads flying above them opened to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Torchwick as he got up and surrounding Sun.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" The notorious criminal said.

With that said, the White Fang members charged at the monkey Faunus, but he proceeded to dodge slashes and get some of the soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolled out of the way, pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly used it to beat down on each opponent that approached him, felling each one in a single flaming blow when he twirled, even creating a scorching shockwave to beat the last of them.

"Hah! I didn't even need Leo for that!" Sun declared.

Blake peered around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat more White Fang soldiers, causing one to fly over Torchwick 's head. The crime boss growled in annoyance and aimed his cane at Sun, firing a shot that he defended himself from just as Blake leapt into the action, aiming for Torchwick.

"He's mine!" Blake yelled.

Blake went in close and became a blur of afterimages as she slashed both of her blades at Torchwick, who backed away and deflected each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds.

Blake continued to dash, hop over, and slide around Torchwick to try and find a weak spot, but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, landed a few hits on Blake until one final beating with his cane caused her to go down.

Just as Torchwick dealt with one opponent, Sun suddenly appeared right behind her and disconnected Ruyi Bang & Jingu Bang into two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks.

Sun swung each gun at Torchwick while firing everything he had at him, but even with the rapid series of shots and flying bullets, Torchwick managed to defend himself against every bullet and hit until a millisecond-long pause allowed Blake to try and get a slash in.

Unfortunately, it was no good. As soon as Blake struck his body, it dispersed into grey smoke, causing the blade to slice through harmlessly.

Due to Blake and Sun's shock at this newfound invulnerability, It was now Torchwick's turn to take advantage of their distraction. He quickly turned his arms into smoke, except his fists and shot them forward, striking both Blake and Sun away from him.

"Uh.." Sun groaned before dodging out of the way as numerous smoky fists crashed down around him and Blake.

"It's so aggravating, dealing with kids these days." Roman sighed as he used his semblance to bring up a fresh cigar to his mouth and light it, as he was currently armless. "First Red, now Kitty and Kong."

Torchwick sucked in a long breath of nicotine. 'At least Little Knight is actually bearable, for all his... naivety.'

_"Hey!"_

Torchwick turned to see Ruby Rose on a nearby rooftop, her weapon out and ready.

'Uh! Speak of the Devil! Now that I think about it, that girl's got too much black and red on her.' Torchwick waved at her, temporarily halting his attack on the two Faunus. "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny Polendina, a girl Team RWBY met on the day Bake and Weiss started their argument, asked from behind Ruby.

"Penny, get back!" Ruby instructed. But while her attention was diverted, Torchwick snarled and fired his cane at her, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away. "AAAAAH!"

"Don't look away from an acknowledged enemy if you can't sense sneak attacks!" He gloated.

Blake tried to sneak a bullet at Torchwick's head but he easily dodged it without even looking at her. "I don't give out empty words, Kitty."

Penny turned her head toward the criminal and glared at him, walking forward while Ruby tried to get back up.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby raised her hand in a futile attempt to stop her.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

Her backpack mechanically opened up, and from its dark depths, a single sword was ejected, which extended and multiplied into several blades hovering over Penny's back.

Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sent three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeded to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack.

She then leapt over a goon with her swords in tow, and after finally making a wheel out of her swords, she threw them to knock multiple White Fang members off their feet.

"Whoa!" Sun observed the spectacle in amazement. "I guess I can leave this to her."

He then ran off. 'Where did Jaune go?'

_Then the World shuddered as an intense pressure fell upon the entire shipyard._

* * *

"Neo!"

Jaune immediately took a sharp left, running through the shipyard while search for the ice cream addict. For wherever there was smoke (Roman), there was a mirror(Neo) nearby.

Jaune knew that for all his bravado, Roman would never kill any of his friends if the thief didn't want the combined force of the Vale Police Department and Beacon Academy crashing down of him.

The problem is _Neo_ who might go ahead with it if she ever got the urge. He had to find her and occupy her attention while leaving Sun to help Blake deal with Roman.

It was a tiny noise that alerted him.

It was the near-inaudible crunch of glass under a shoe, or perhaps a boot.

_A small blade, aiming to slice his neck._

Succumbing to the pleas of his Observation Haki, Jaune spun, shield clutched and covering his upper body.

Not even finishing his turn, sparks erupted on the white metal of Crocea Mors' shield. The screeching of metal on metal rang in Jaune's ears as the sparks tapered off to the side of his shield. He felt a very familiar pressure on his left arm as he suddenly struggled to keep it up.

There was a problem Jaune had whenever he had to fight Neo. Neo's semblance worked by manipulating space itself to either teleport, create illusions or enter a pocket dimension where not even Observation Haki could reach. Seriously, both Jaune had tried quite a few times and Roman had given up years ago.

Add that to her assassination skills, she was the most dangerous type for a Power Defense type like Jaune. It was only when Neo briefly left the Mirror Realm that Jaune could sense and dodge her, though just barely.

Jaune rapidly stepped back, intent on forcing some sort of distance from Neo as another strike met his shield, bright sparks scratching off its surface.

It was faint, but thanks to the way the glass shards on the floor reflected light and stirred, he could see… something move quickly after him!

The glass shifted, and a shadow moved forth, something sharp glinting where her hands were, straight ahead, right at him!

Jaune raised his shield, but he was a moment too slow.

A small rip appeared in the _air_ , sailing right for his chest, for his heart.

***CLANG***

Jaune had never been more thankful in his life for his armor, which Bianca had insisted on.

Reflexively, Jaune swung his sword in a blind, wide swing.

As he was raising his blade, a fist struck his temple like a sledgehammer, and as he recoiled, what felt like a knee burrowed its way into his gut.

'She's not joking around this time.'

Jaune swung his shield in a wide berth, striking nothing but air. A sharp boot crashed on his chin, a sharp jab landed on his nose.

'She's gonna kill, for real this time.'

Each shot scraped at his Aura reserves. He'd withstood worse, but…

He thrust his sword forward.

An uppercut to the jaw, followed by an elbow to the cheek.

'Damn It…'

Jaune spotted another glint of steel, and he raised his shield, blocking another possibly deadly cut.

In response, a swift kick had battered his temple. An iron grip had taken hold of his arm and threw him to the ground, and a fist smashed into his throat.

"Damn it."

As he laid on the ground, choking from the damage to his throat, Jaune felt Neo straddle him. Maybe due to his vision being hazy from the attacks on his head and neck, Jaune's Observation Haki went into overdrive and then he 'see' the invisible assassin, raising her blade for a final stab.

**"DAMN IT!"**

_The World shook as an intense pressure fell upon the entire shipyard._

Neo was blasted away from on top of him, her semblance falling apart around her in the form of tiny broken mirror glass. That didn't stop her as her fighting instincts took over as she rushed back towards Jaune, her weapon, Hush, at the ready.

Jaune blinked as everything seemed to slow down.

He could sense it, the drawn blade of his assailant, aimed, and shooting straight for him, right between his eyes, even as Mirror Realm cloaked Neo once again.

Taking up his sword with both hands, Jaune gripped Crocea Mors as hard as he could, his white aura flaring out as he became **Super Hunter.**

**"Aura Slash!"** Jaune swung his blade, releasing a massive white wave towards the diminutive assassin. The **Aura Slash** flew forward, causing largescale damage and upon hitting Neo, exploded into a bright flare, easily grabbing the attention of everyone within the shipyard... and several without.

Just before Sun would meet up with him and suggest that they regroup immediately, anticipating the cops' arrival and sending Blake a message of their whereabouts, Jaune was still unsettled about the last expression on Neo's face before she disappeared.

She didn't look scared, angry, worried or even bored.

_She was excited._

* * *

Later, a handful of police cars had arrived at the docks, where Jaune, Ruby, Blake, Sun, and Penny were sitting on boxes in silence. That is, until Weiss and Yang arrived.

Ruby quickly jumped off her box to calm down her irate partner. "Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss ignored her and walked right up to Blake, leaving the others (except Penny) to watch in worry.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

"Stop!" Weiss interrupted Blake. "Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?"

Blake could only widen her eyes in confusion.

"Twelve hours." Weiss continued. "That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided..."

Jaune, Yang, Sun, and Ruby looked on, worried.

"…I don't care."

"You don't care?" Blake asked, surprised.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss questioned.

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah!" Weiss silenced her "I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..."

Weiss looked at Jaune and Sun as she caught herself. "Someone else."

Blake looked to see Ruby and Yang grinning at her.

"Of course." she wiped a stray tear from her eye, nodding.

Weiss smiled back and nodded in acceptance.

The moment was serious for a second more until Ruby ruined it.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby screamed, waving her arms wildly.

As the six gathered with each other, Weiss pointed accusingly at Sun and Jaune. "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!"

Sun laughed nervously at this.

"And what are _you_ even doing here?"

"Hey, I helped out!" Jaune looked to his brother and Blake for help. "Right guys?"

"Yeah. He helped." Yang grabbed Jaune's head into a noogie session. "He was the one who texted me about you, Blake. He didn't send your location, but he did assure us you were at least fine."

"Hey, wait a minute..." Ruby looked around. "Where's Penny?"

"Who?" Jaune and Sun asked simultaneously.

* * *

Roman and Neo walked into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. Roman had an annoyed expression while Neo looked satisfied for some reason, despite the slowly healing injuries on her.

"Neo, be a dear and set up a bath for me back home."

Neo waved goodbye and vanished in a shatter of mirrors.

Torchwick went over to a nearby table and placed down a case, sighing in exhaustion.

"How very disappointing, Torchwick." A female voice was heard from behind the criminal.

Torchwick sanguinely turned around, having already sensed their approach. "Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..."

"We were expecting... more from you."

Torchwick laughed a little before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

"And you will continue to do so."

The speaker stepped out of the darkness while creating a small fireball in her hand.

"We have big plans for you, Roman." Cinder Fall said, as she and her companions stepped out of the dark. "All we ask is... a little cooperation."

Roman Torchwick glared at his 'employer' and could only release a soft growl of frustration.

* * *

**Hunter Profile**

**Name: Roman Torchwick**

**Age: 28**

**Title: The Smoky Thief**

**Aura: Orange**

**Color Motif: Black, White**

**Semblance: Smoke.** **Roman is able to generate, manipulate, and become smoke. He's essentially a smoke Logia.**

**Sex: Male**

**Alignment: Chaotic Neutral**

**Likes: Neo, Quality Cigar, Money**

**Dislikes: The 'Fiery Bitch and her two stooges', annoying Hunter teenagers.**

**Bio: Roman is a high profile thief who is elusive enough to have never been caught unless he wanted to and skilled enough to match Pro Hunter in combat. It's unknown how he met Neo but they value each other. The reason he is currently working for Cinder Fall is due to the fact she possesses a strange power than burned him despite his semblance and Haki normally rendering that impossible.**

**His interest in Jaune is that he has also been able to hurt him as well, thus causing Roman to keep him in close contact so that he can properly observe, and potentially learn about, the mysterious power (It's Magic. Jaune's body is naturally flowing with it so he is able to hurt Roman without even needing Haki).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's season 1. I'm currently working on a 'Movie' Fanfic so please look to my Author page before expecting next chapter.


End file.
